Sparklers
by HuaFeiHua
Summary: todomomo drabble collection.
1. fireworks

**Word Count:** 938

* * *

It was a festival. Just a festival. Just something that the two of them had never experienced before, experiencing for the first time together as friends. Yeah, just friends.

They did it again in their second year, together again because their other friends had begun pairing up. It would have been awkward to just tag along on them, to third wheel on what were dates-but-not-quite-dates, so together they went again. As just friends. Holding hands so as not to lose one another was normal, right?

Third year was when it all turned real. Last year's dates-but-not-quite-dates blossomed into real dates and real couples, happy and laughing and indulging in one another. This year there had not even been an invitation to hang out as friends with them, too busy were they in their own little worlds, so for the third time in a row, Todoroki Shoto and Yaoyorozu Momo went to Ennichi festival together.

It was normal for friends to hold hands as they sauntered through the crowds together, right? It was easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the late night fervor, to look away for just one second and find your partner gone without a trace. Because that's what it felt like to them.

It was normal for friends to splurge on each other when they both knew it was easier to pay separately, right? Paying for the other's taiyaki or soba was just pennies out of the wallet, but pennies add up. Because there was a tab of life debts built up in their hero training days together, and all that had to be paid back somehow.

It was normal for friends to steal glances at each other instead of the fireworks, the beautiful, fiery blossoms in the sky, right? The reflections of light and wonder in Momo's face seemed just all the more compelling to Shoto, who saw fire every day of his life, but never in the same way that she did. He'd never thought of it as beautiful, but then he saw the colors illuminating her beauty, and thought that perhaps that not all things that burn will also destroy. Likewise, Momo saw him transform before her eyes as his gaze changed from aloof and neutral to awe and contentedness. It almost made her giggle at how childlike he looked, staring up at the sky like that, how beautiful his face could be when he wasn't feeling so irritated or lost in thought.

Shoto caught her eye at one point, and they both looked away faster than the eye-catch had even lasted. It was normal, was it not, for friends to look at each other, right?

Because it wasn't, at least not like that.

Shoto peeked back at Momo, and his face turned a hot as hers looked when once again, their gazes met.

No, it wasn't normal, not in the slightest, to see someone you've known for all of three years and only just now feel like you've loved them for a thousand years and a day. To see them, as you did every day for all of three years and only just now really see them as someone you might like to possibly, perhaps, maybe, just _maybe_ …

…love?

Momo's breaths grew as rapid and shallow as her heartbeat; dear god what was happening to her? He was just a classmate, just a friend, just someone to go to the festival with when no one else fit the bill. He was just growing closer, and of course it made sense that she would notice everything about him, like his pretty eyelashes and his too-long bangs falling in front of his eyes, and—

She was beautiful, so beautiful, even with her quivering lips and brow knitted with confusion. Even with tears spilling down her cheeks like it was her life's work to cry. Before he knew it, he was leaning in, and so was she; he knew it wasn't normal to feel this way, at least if you wanted to call yourselves friends.

And she knew it too, choked back the questions because she knew already the answers. She had simply been too afraid to consider them the truth. Yet there she was, staring them straight in the face, closing her eyes, feeling his steady breath on her lips—

—her hand softly, gently brushing against his cheek, sending chills down his spine and his own heart racing; all the world was aflame—

—and he was the center of that passion.

Was it normal to want to kiss your best friend?

Such was the thing Todoroki found himself wondering as he and Momo drew closer and closer together.

Because it sure felt normal. The booming of the fireworks, the scent of freshly spent gunpowder…

…the flashes of light against her eyelids, the coolness of night and its sweet, summer breeze…

The taste of the other's lips upon their own.

They only pulled apart because otherwise they would drown; the breath in their lungs wasn't enough to supply two for long. Momo took in deep gulps of air, her hand still on Shoto's cheek, (his hand still on her waist), their eyes still locked on one another as they audibly inhaled and exhaled over and over, as they breathed as one.

Oh, who were they kidding. Certainly not themselves.

Of course it was normal, if you were in love with your best friend.

They closed their eyes and closed the space between them once more.

* * *

 ** _author's note i._** _this drabble is the entire reason why i rehauled my name on this site and ao3 because my writing senpai with a god complex is going to judge me so hard if she finds this. idk. lowkey embarrassed of this, not just because it's my first bit of published bnha but also because like this was really... uh.. i, don't, usually, , write things this intimately? / /SWEATS ASEXUALLY. anyway that's all from me! thank you for reading! ! ! leave a review, if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaat daaay~~~~_


	2. i already know

_**author's note ii.** i'm not usually back so soon with stories but you know what? whatever. fanfiction was being a total meanie (gotta... keep that k rating until i come up w/a drabble that would actually change it...) so this is being posted hours later than ao3 and tumblr. i would've posted this at one in the morning if the SITE HAD JUST LET ME SUBMIT DOCUMENTS. sheesh. anyway, i'm pretty sure this is... not that great? but you guys' follows/faves/reviews really meant a lot to me last time. i hope to keep improving w/you guys' support. anyway, feel free to follow/fave or smth if you enjoyed this. reviews would be greatly appreciated, but as always, have a greaaat daaay~~_

* * *

 **Word Count:** 1,095

* * *

The crisp winter air nipped at Todoroki's nose and cheeks, but he didn't mind. To him, it was a feeling he'd felt all his life, what with the ice half of his quirk and all.

He stared up at the sullen, grey clouds, watching as his breath clouded and dissipated in mere seconds before him. The weather forecast called for light snow later. He was looking forward to it; it had been a strangely warm winter. The city just didn't look the same, with the barren trees decked out in lights but without a speck of white magic anywhere.

He looked down at his shoes again and continued his journey to the train station. His hands were stuffed into his jacket pockets, and he hoped no one recognized him. He had things to do, too private and personal to be pestered by people who saw him on TV.

"Todoroki-kun?"

Heck. _Hecking_ heck. He wasn't ready for this, not yet, but there he was. Already at the train station, and there _she_ was, waiting for the train. Waiting to be transferred leagues away.

It was just for a short-term internship. She'd be back before February, a mere six weeks.

(Six weeks without seeing the one you loved felt like an eternity and a half when you were only sixteen.)

"What are you doing here?"

His throat was dry; he averted his eyes from her feet to his own. He wasn't sure how to tell her. Sure, he'd figured all the other little details out after several _excruciating_ meetings with Midoriya that may or may not have taken place mostly in the boys' bathroom at UA, but _words_? What were _those_? How did one utilize them?

"I was told you were leaving for your internship today," he blurted out, the cold suddenly not affecting him anymore. "I wanted to see you off." He fidgeted subtly, and he heard her make a sound of surprise.

"Th-thank you, Todoroki-kun." She paused for a second. Todoroki still found it hard to look anywhere but the ground. "But don't you have other places to be? The holidays are nearing; even Jirou told me she had other things to do today."

(Hah. Why had he gone along with Midoriya's idea of asking their classmates for alternate advice?)

"It's okay," he replied slowly. "It can wait." He dared lift his face, meet her gaze.

Catlike onyx eyes blinked back at him, bright and full of curiosity. A moment of silence passed between them, not long enough to be awkward, but too long to be fully natural.

Todoroki noticed he was staring (and so did she) and quickly turned away (as did she). "Yaoyorozu," he said, the name easily slipping out. He could hear her fidgeting with her suitcase handle and briefly wondered if she was feeling as embarrassed and awkward as he was.

"Y-yes?" she stammered, and they finally had the courage to look at each other again.

"I—" There was a soft hum that grew louder as the electric train rapidly approached. Dang it. He didn't have much time left. He fumbled for a second, Yaoyorozu peering at him curiously, as he pulled a dark red scarf out of one of his jacket pockets, feeling hilariously awkward as it spilled out like a magician's scarves. He shoved the gift at her with far more force than he intended to. At this point, the day didn't feel cold at all.

"The weather's bad up north," he mumbled as the train pulled into the station, the screeching of its brakes very nearly drowning him out. "I thought that this would go with your hero costume."

(He can hear Jirou snickering about how ' _hopeless_ ' he was, and how she had the ' _perfect_ ' idea in his memories.)

Her cheeks, previously dusted with pink (probably from the cold) were at that point flushed cherry red. "Th-thank you so much, Todo…" She tripped over her own words as she graciously accepted his gift. "…Todoroki-san. I'm sure it will be useful."

The train car doors open, and people pour out. They flow all around the two young heroes, creating a little pocket of the world all to themselves. If anyone knows them, they don't say anything.

Todoroki's throat tightens as Yaoyorozu's gaze shifts over to the train. This was his last opportunity for a long, long time. Practically forever. "Yaoyorozu, I—" Something stops his vocal chords from working when her eyes flick back to him. The people have stopped flowing out of the train and _heck_ if he wishes they could have kept on coming.

"Todoroki-san," she said gently, picking up her bag. "I have to go now." She slung the scarf around her neck and offered him a genuine smile (was that remorse he saw in it?). "I'll miss you."

She turned away; his mind turned to mush.

(He knew how hard it was for her to say things like that, to say how she felt.)

On an impulse, he took a step forward and grabbed her hand to keep her there with him for just a moment longer. "Yaoyorozu, you know, I really…" He faltered and had to swallow the butterflies when Yaoyorozu gave him another glance. "…love y—"

She pulled him down by the collar of his shirt, closed her eyes, and the distance between them shrank down to nothing.

Todoroki had no idea what to do or how to feel or why she did that or even where they were anymore, but it wasn't bad so he rolled with it.

Only to have her pull away the second he closed his eyes leaned into her kiss. Confused, he regained his balance and blinked at her.

"Call me Momo," she whispered as she let him go, her eyes glistening with tears. Before Todoroki could question anything, she took a step backwards and said something that was lost to the train's whistle (but looked suspiciously like " _I love you, too._ ").

In the blink of an eye, she was gone along with the train.

Todoroki's hand wandered up to his lips.

(Jirou had been right. Everyone _did_ know about his love, even the recipient herself.)

So _that_ happened.

He wandered away from the train station, knowing he'd best not loiter. Staring up at the overcast sky, he was surprised when a soft, little snowflake landed lightly atop his nose.

He was just glad it was mutual.


	3. moonlight

**Word Count:** 555

* * *

Momo had always been a little bit of a hopeless romantic.

Perhaps she wasn't a fan of the Prince Charming trope—after all, being an aspiring heroine herself, she didn't feel as if she'd really need one in her life—but the idea of falling in love and finding someone who accepted you for all you were was something she could really get behind. After all, she knew that deep down, she wasn't the perfect little girl everyone thought she was. For someone to look beyond what lay on the surface, to what she truly was within, and still say, "I love you all the same", that was what Momo dreamed about.

After she finished her studies, of course.

Which is why it was at midnight, after Momo felt that she had crammed sufficiently, that she had decided to stand out on her balcony and watch the stars, and not a second before. She sighed contentedly as she stared up at the moon.

It was kind of set up like one of those classical English plays she had tried to read as a child. She had failed miserably at understanding it, of course, but she understood the spirit of the words, or so she'd like to think. A girl stands out on her balcony, waxing poetry about the boy she loved without realizing he was right there all along.

There was a soft _thud_ of a landing behind her, snapping Momo out of her thoughts. However, faster than she could pivot around and see who it was, one hand was clamped over her mouth and another snaked around her waist, holding her close to whoever had just landed on her balcony.

"Don't panic, Momo. It's just me," a low, familiar voice whispered into her ear. It sent Momo's heart into a frenzy, but she was at least reassured that it wasn't a villain kidnapping her. "I'm going to let go now, but don't say anything yet, okay?"

Momo nodded.

True to his word, she was released, and, true to her own word, she remained quiet.

Momo turned around to face Shoto, and he stared at her evenly. For a full moment, they stood there in the silence. (For a full moment, Momo simply admired the way he looked bathed in moonlight before her; the way the light struck his hair was truly beautiful.)

"Sorry if I scared you, Momo," Shoto finally said. "This was the only way I could think of to get from my room to yours without getting caught. You _know_ how strict Midnight-sensei is when it comes to guys entering the girls' dorms."

"So long after lights out, too," Momo added. She smiled gently at him, then laughed softly. She walked over to the balcony rail and hoisted herself up so that she could sit on it facing him. "So," she said to her boyfriend, "what did you want to tell me that just _had_ to wait until we were all alone?"

A slight smile graced Shoto's lips as he too walked over to the balcony rail, though he merely leaned against it. He looked up at Momo, and there was something in his gaze that she couldn't quite identify, not until he said it.

"I love you."

* * *

 ** _author's note iii._** _i was on a bit of a writing kick with the last two drabbles (which is really rare for me in the winter since i'm like lowkey solar powered) but then that got killed because well uh long story short my old chemistry teacher found out exactly how much fanfiction i write (spoiler alert: it's a **lot** ) and wow that was embarrassing and i'm still convinced he's not gonna let me live it down but like he hasn't said a _thing _since so uh? who knows. thank god anyway._

 _super hype for thursday tho because i've been working on a mulan au for a little while now and i'm finally (finally!) going to start publishing it starting then so. stay tuned for that guys. anyway yee at last an actual drabble lol. follow/fave if you're intrigued; reviews are nice, if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaat daaay~~~_


	4. i'm sticking with you

_hey if unplanned pregnancies and the topics that come w/it (i.e. "keep it or nah") is a squick of your or smth then feel free to skip over this chapter._

* * *

 **Word Count:** 777

* * *

"So, what'cha gonna do about it, Momo? You can't just ignore it— this is one of those problems that gets bigger when left alone, quite literally this time, might I add."

Momo sighed and flopped onto her bed. "I don't know, Kyo. I really don't know."

"Well, look on the bright side, Yaomomo. It's January, so we'll have graduated by the time you really start showing."

Momo stared at the cheap, white stick in her hands, turning it over and over as if that would somehow get rid of the two pink lines that had sealed her fate. "But I don't want to show. How am I supposed to get my heroing career off the ground if I'm _pregnant_?"

"I thought you _wanted_ kids."

"Not _now_ , Kyo! We're in high school. I want to at _least_ have a steady career going before I have dependents to think about."

"Could you at least tell me how this happened?"

Momo sighed again and draped an arm over her eyes. "Remember the party the staff threw us third years when we finished our exams back in December?"

Kyouka hummed. "I kept telling you to confess to Todoroki because we're running out of time at U.A.," she said, then suddenly stopped and sat up properly in Momo's chair. "Wait. _No way._ Back then, you guys didn't—"

Momo's face heated up as she slowly nodded. Kyouka burst into a bout of shrieking laughter.

"Oh my _god_ , Yaomomo, I can't— I can't believe you guys went _there_ that fast. I mean, you guys were so _awkward_ around each other before then, and then you just…" Momo glared as her friend trailed off from the laughter.

Kyouka sighed loudly when she was finished, still unable to wipe the grin off her face. "I'm sorry, Yaomomo, I just think it's that hilarious. What do you think its quirk is going to be?"

Momo sat up again and stared at her bedsheets. "I don't know if we're even keeping it," she said, and atmosphere in the room suddenly felt much heavier.

"Hey," Kyouka said gently. "Does Todoroki know?"

"…Do I know what?"

Both girls froze when they heard the door open and Todoroki's voice come through.

Momo turned slowly to the doorway and saw him standing there, his eyebrows knit together but his expression otherwise as unreadable as ever. She gulped. A fluttering was rising up in her stomach, and as badly as she wanted to tell him, the growing lump in her throat kept her from doing so.

But Todoroki was a patient person, and all the time it took for Momo to find her voice he gave to her.

"I'm pregnant," she confessed, and Todoroki's eyes subtly widened.

Todoroki glanced around the hall, then walked into Momo's room, locking the door behind him, and carefully sat down on the bed. Their backs pressed together, and Momo averted her gaze to the bedsheets again.

"What are we going to do about this?" Todoroki asked softly.

"That's what I've been asking," Kyouka huffed as she spun lazy circles in Momo's chair.

"I don't know," Momo truthfully replied. "Even though we've not even graduated, we've been public figures since we were first years, so it would be hard to get rid of it safely without anyone knowing, but I also don't want to forfeit the first few years of my hero career by being a single mother."

"Who said you'd do it alone?"

Momo ceased her fidgeting. "Well, I don't really want to make anybody help since—"

"No, you're misunderstanding me." The warmth of his back against her own left as he adjusted to face her, but Momo couldn't quite bring herself to meet his gaze. "I'll marry you."

The breath hitched in Momo's throat; tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "Todoroki-san, you don't have to—"

"But I _want_ to," said Todoroki fiercely. Only then could Momo look at him again, and the stubborn sincerity in his eyes made her own spill over. "After we graduate, we can get married, and then you can keep your life on the same track because I'll be there to help you."

Overwhelmed, Momo leaned forward and hugged him, crying. The feeling of his arms around her was enough to quell the fear that had been growing in her belly, and they stayed like that for the longest time.

(Kyouka, in the meantime, ate up every second of it.)

* * *

 ** _author's note iv._** _i saw juno a few days ago. and like, i feel like the general plot of juno would be more fitting as kamijirou but then this drabble came out as i was listening to the (really good) soundtrack of the movie so. as far as the drabbles go, this is probs going to be an oddball. that ending tho. not sure how i feel about it. eh. anyway, thank you all for your follows/faves/reviews so far. feel free to leave one if you're new or into leaving reviews! as always, have a greaaat daaay~~_


	5. sprint

**Word Count:** 390

* * *

Izuku glanced out his dorm room window to see his classmate Todoroki running around the track alone in the fading light. Izuku frowned slightly. It was weird how frequently Todoroki had been going down to the track as of late. This was the fifth time he'd seen him out there this week, and it was only Tuesday. He'd never really taken the half-and-half boy for a runner, and indeed, in all the time they had lived together in the dorms, Izuku had rarely, if ever, seen Todoroki go out running on his own. Something was far from normal, and Izuku was determined to get to the bottom of it.

So he went down to the track to ask about it.

"Hey, Todoroki!" he called, and the mixed boy slowed to a stop in front of Izuku, his breathing slightly labored. "I've just been curious as to _why_ exactly you've been running so much lately."

Todoroki steadied himself, then stared into some fixed point beyond Izuku. "My chest feels strange," he simply said. "It makes me want to run."

Izuku looked at him with concern. "Are you sure you don't want to go to Recovery Girl for that? It sounds pretty serious, you know," he said, but Todoroki merely shook his head.

"It doesn't feel bad, really. Just weird, like something's about to explode."

"…Todoroki, that sure _sounds_ bad."

Todoroki lowered his gaze and stared down at his hands, seemingly lost in thought. "Yeah, I guess it would _sound_ bad, but really it's not. It makes me feel like I need to run afterwards, though."

 _That sounds like a fear response,_ Izuku thought. He swallowed. "Say, Todoroki, does this happen when anyone in particular is nearby?"

Todoroki paused for a moment as he ran through his memories. "When I see Yaoyorozu in the common rooms," he said finally, which surprised Izuku. However, before the latter could say anything, Todoroki continued talking. "In class, it's okay, I guess, but otherwise I just feel my heart pounding and my head gets all fuzzy and…" His eyes widened slightly. "I'm not allergic to her outside of class, am I?"

Izuku had to hold back his laughter at his classmate's obliviousness.

Explaining a crush to Todoroki was going to be a _trip_.

* * *

 ** _author's note v._** _pff deku you can't even tell when someone likes you._

 _i usually judge my ideas on a scale of 1-10 how much my old chem teacher would judge me for it, and that's usually how i filter my ffanfiction ideas. i mean, by default any fanfiction idea is at least a five on that scale because_ fanfiction! _, but pitches with a rank of at least 8.5 on that scale tend not to be considered._

 _ofc i ignored that with the last drabble, which i'm pretty sure would land a solid 9.3 on the "old chem teacher is judging you" scale, and while this time around would probably be a seven at most, i couldn't help but think of that scale of judginess as i wrote this. (it's cool i'm pretty sure any respect he had for me as a student flew out the window when he found out i write fanfiction, period lmao)_

 _anyway long note for a short drabble o-o''. thank you so much for your follows/faves/reviews so far. feel free to leave one if you're new (esp. reviews, if that's what you're into c:), and as always, have a greaaat daaay~~_


	6. wanna kiss?

**Word Count:** 595

* * *

 _Surprising._ English. Derived from Medieval Latin _superprehendre_ , _meaning to seize_. Both a noun and a verb. Defined by an action or event that was not anticipated; it was a _surprise_ to the recipient.

To Momo, _surprising_ was when her seatmate asked her on a date to the movies without any prior warning. (To which she, of course, said _yes_ because by god, her the feelings she felt toward her seatmate were _not_ platonic in the slightest.)

 _Surprising_ was when they met at the theatres together, just the two of them, in mysteriously matching clothing. Momo's heart beat erratically inside of her chest; it took all her self control not to accidentally pop out a matryoshka doll right then and there. Their hands were close enough to touch (but they didn't), their arms were close enough to brush (but they didn't) as they walked into the lobby, and oh _geez_ did people recognize them? (They didn't.) Ever since the sports festival, Momo had taken great care to avoid being recognized in public; could this be her downfall? (It wouldn't.)

Even immediately after their date ended, Momo would never really be able to remember the plot of the movie they watched that day. Well, it wasn't as if the movie was ever really the significant thing about their outing. At the end of the day, it was merely a backdrop to something far greater and, dare she say it, _unsurprising_.

The movie was at an interlude between major climactic points, and while those rarely lasted long, the movie wasn't what Shoto had come all this way for. Then again, could he really bring himself to pull the pretty girl next to him away from the action on screen? After all, it was when her eyes lit up like that, like they were made of starlight, as she drank in the information all around her that he loved her the most. (And yeah, it _was_ just their first kind-of date, but his sister had shown him enough chick flicks to get him in touch with those kinds of emotions well enough.)

Ah, but his left pocket was a bad idea. Why had he put it in there? It would probably melt soon if he didn't, and he liked these pants.

He leaned over. "Hey."

Momo turned away from the screen and turned to her friend and blinked in surprise when she saw a pair of heterochromatic eyes staring just centimeters away from her own.

"Wanna kiss?"

(Ba- _thump._ ) Surprising.

Before she could even really process Todoroki's question, he leaned away and pulled one of those chocolate kisses out of his pocket and offered it to her, as poker faced as ever.

(She crammed her heart back into her chest; it had no business up in her throat) _Never mind_ , she thought as she gingerly took the chocolate from him. She returned her attention to the movie, popping the chocolate into her mouth, but she couldn't really focus on it anymore. She snuck a glance at her date and decided, _I should have known Todoroki-kun would have meant it like that. It's unsurprising of him._

(He actually had wanted to kiss her. Oh well. At least his brothers were good for _something_ when it came to advice. Chocolate was a good backup plan.)

(She actually had hoped he'd meant the verb, but, well, a chocolate was nice too. It didn't stop her from daydreaming about the alternative, though.)

Ah, young love. So, _so_ surprising.

* * *

 ** _author's note vi._** _i almost made this a/n number 11 whoopsie daisies. anyway, a huge shoutout to_ wing-jan _for translating this collection into chinese. i've been meaning to do this since they started around chapter two, but i'm so terribly sorry for forgetting all the time._ wing-jan _,_ 你很厲害。 多謝你翻譯我的粉絲小說。 我忘告訴你前，我沒看了你翻譯粉絲小說因為fanfiction . net不讓用戶用外網址。用戶用外網址時，網址刪除。（對不起，我真要看讀你的翻譯，可是我是太害羞告訴了你。又對不起我有法錯誤。）  
 _(that grammar is probably terrible but it's not like i'm going to ask my mom to look it over and correct it for me.)_

 _anyway, me being weirdly consistent w/updating this fic aside (which is really weird bc i don't usually write this many drabbles?), i'm probably going to be gone for about two weeks, like in general. i have a trip w/band next week, which is my spring break, and i'm still debating bringing my laptop (currently leaning towards no), and like. idk just dun feel like updating the mulan au on thursday this week lol.  
also there's a poll up on my profile on what kind of au you guys might like to see me write, so uh i'd love it if you could go vote in that. (thank.)_

 _wow this is way too long of an a/n for such a short drabble. uhh thanks for reading; follow/fave if you're new, reviews r gr8 if you're into that, and as always, have a greaaat daaaay~~_


	7. caught

**Word Count:** 524

* * *

Tsuyu was not the type of girl who typically appreciated PDA, neither involving herself nor other people. Sure, maybe U.A. wasn't really that much of a make out school, not among the first years anyway. She was less sure about the second and third years, but then again, she wasn't interested in poking over to _their_ dorms to find out.

Tsuyu hummed as she made her way back to the first year dorms, and she absently ran her hands along the locker vents, taking great care to silence her footsteps as she did so. The halls stood silent and empty. The bright light of the day was streaming in through the many windows, fading away slowly as the golden hour progressed. It was early in the evening yet; she thought perhaps she might have some good conversation with everyone else in the common rooms before turning in for the night. But that would have to be later. At the moment, she simply wished to enjoy the peace.

Many of the classroom doors were open, allowing her to peek inside as she wandered by. Most were empty, as was expected, and she stopped thinking about each room's contents. What was the point when she knew there would be nothing?

Except for one.

She almost missed it, she did. The couple, alone in the classroom. She nearly walked right by them without a second glance, but they were familiar. So she stopped, backtracked, and looked again.

 _Oh… geez…_

She'd hoped she'd been wrong when she thought she saw two people alone in the room, but how unfortunate that she was wrong about being wrong.

 _This is awkward._

She'd question if she knew them, since their faces were obscured, but she already knew the answer: there was no mistaking the half white, half red head of Todoroki, or the fluffiest of ponytails belonging to Momo.

 _I didn't even realize they were together._

Tsuyu held her breath as she watched them. She was lucky that they weren't making out, but maybe that would have been better. She could have called them out for it or simply moved on without a word. That would have been easy.

Why did an innocent _hug_ look so damn _intimate_?

She could hear Momo sigh softly as she buried her face in the crook of Todoroki's neck, and suddenly, Tsuyu felt as if she were intruding on something immensely private, as if she had just seen something the world didn't want her to see.

As silently as she could, Tsuyu ducked away and hurried back to the dorms, her face burning uncharacteristically red. _Wow that was awkward did they just seriously like oh geez but like why alone in a classroom like that what on earth and oh geez that was. Oh geez they held each other in their arms I can never look at the two of them together the same way again…_

Yes, Tsuyu was glad U.A. wasn't a make out school.

But somehow, an incident like that, which felt infinitely more intimate, made her wish it was.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note vii._** _my school is known as the makeout school in our district. it's about as awkward as it sounds, but you get numb to it. but like, okay. so one of my friends has a boyfriend and they are cute as hell not just because they're lowkey abt their relationship and fluffy as heck, but also because they are like both rlly attractive people and they as a couple have too much power. i was walking to third period like last week and they were hugging and i was like "What" for a second and then i crept away w/o making fun of them bc honestly... the atmosphere was sacred and intimate and wow. it was beautiful. hugs, y'all._

 _anyway thank you for reading! follow/fave if you're new, i guess; leave a review if that's what you're into. have a greaaat daaaay~~_


	8. the help

_Follow-up to chapter 5, as requested on ao3 by_ back_in_a_bit _. some really heavily implied izuocha in this one, because i wanted to. all typos are intentional._

* * *

 **Total Word Count:** 1,580 **| Dialogue Word Count:** 902

* * *

 _9:14 p.m._

 _ **Midoriya Izuku**_ _has added_ _ **Uraraka Ochako**_ _,_ _**Iida Tenya**_ _,_ _**Todoroki Shoto**_ _, and_ _ **Jirou Kyouka**_ _to the chat._

 **[21:14] Kyouka:** oh boy another group chat

 **[21:14] Kyouka:** not many in this one tho so i might not have to mute it lol

 **[21:15] Kyouka:** whasgoingon

 **[21:16] Izuku:** ok Todoroki I think you should exlain this to everyone

 **[21:16] Izuku:** *explain

 **[21:19] Shoto:** I like Yaoyorozu?

 **[21:19] Ochako:** nice

 **[21:19] Kyouka:** WHAT

 **[21:19] Tenya:** A most fascinating revelation, Todoroki-kun!

 **[21:20] Kyouka:** THE

 **[21:20] Kyouka:** FRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK?

 **[21:20] Kyouka:** oh so is that why im in a chat with only the dekusquad as company

 **[21:21] Izuku:** yes. we need your insights as momo's friend

 **[21:22] Kyouka:** **oh boy.**

 _ **Jirou Kyouka**_ _has set_ _ **Todoroki Shoto**_ _'s nickname to_ _ **LOVER BOY**_

 _ **Jirou Kyouka**_ _has set_ _ **Midoriya Izuku**_ _'s nickname to_ _ **The Dude's Perspective**_

 **[21:23] Ochako:** JIROU NO

 _ **Jirou Kyouka**_ _has set_ _ **Uraraka Ochako**_ _'s nickname to_ _ **The Girl's Perspective**_

 **[21:24] Kyouka:** hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe too ate tea child

 **[21:24] The Dude's Perspective:** was this a mistake uraraka?

 _ **Jirou Kyouka**_ _has set_ _ **Iida Tenya**_ _'s nickname to_ _ **The Straightforward Perspective**_

 **[21:24] The Girl's Perspective:** YES

 **[21:25] The Straightforward Perspective:** I fail to see the purpose of all this, Jirou-kun.

 **[21:25] The Girl's Perspective:** she did this in our girls-only chat

 **[21:25] LOVER BOY:** what's going on

 _ **Jirou Kyouka**_ _has set her own nickname to_ _ **The BFF**_

 _ **The BFF**_ _changed the chat name to_ _ **Tokidoki-kun needs some Help™**_

 **[21:25] The BFF:** there. All done

 **[21:26] LOVER BOY:** why is ny nickname lover boy

 **[21:26] The Girl's Perspective:** though i have to admit that " _ **G**_ et _**R**_ id _**O**_ f _**S**_ limy grape _ **S**_ (G.R.O.S.S.)" /is/ a really good name for that group chat

 **[21:26] LOVER BOY:** *my

 **[21:26] The BFF:** bc you're in love w/momo

 **[21:27] The BFF:** duh

 **[21:28] LOVER BOY:** I'm what now

 **[21:28] The Dude's Perspective:** ok so like remember when you were out on the track yesterday

 **[21:29] The Dude's Perspective:** and I was like "why are you running" and when ouy explained yourself I kinda laughted

 **[21:29] LOVER BOY:** yeah

 **[21:30] The Dude's Perspective:** *when you explained yourself I kinda laughed

 **[21:30] LOVER BOY:** yeah

 **[21:31] The Dude's Perspective:** and then I explained to you how sometimes when someone feels like that around someone else it means they like them

 **[21:32] LOVER BOY:** if I didn't like Yaoyorozu then why would I hang out with her?

 **[21:32] The Girl's Perspective:** god damn it todoroki

 **[21:32] The BFF:** holy matrimony of two star crossed nidorans batman

 **[21:32] LOVER BOY:**?

 **[21:32] The BFF:** midoriya hes more oblivious than a brick wall being hit in its brick face with bricks

 **[21:33] The Dude's Perspective:** that's kinda extreme I wouldn't put it like that

 **[21:33] The BFF:** we need someone more straightforward

 **[21:33] The BFF:** hey iida

 **[21:33] The BFF:** iida

 **[21:33] The BFF:** iida

 **[21:34] The BFF:** iida

 **[21:34] The BFF:** iida

 **[21:34] The Girl's Perspective:** [100 "Iida"s have been omitted for the sake of length]

 **[21:34] The BFF:** iida

 **[21:34] The BFF:** wao thanks ochako

 **[21:34] The Dude's Perspective:** iida goes to bed at 9:30

 **[21:35] The BFF:** wtf that's so early

 **[21:35] The BFF:** it's only been 5 minutes wtf iides

 **[21:36] LOVER BOY:** so is someone going to tell me what's going on right now?

 **[21:37] The BFF:** my sweet summer child tokidoki-chan

 **[21:37] The Girl's Perspective:** that sounded so weird wth jirou

 **[21:37] The BFF:** you.

 **[21:37] The BFF:** have.

 **[21:38] The BFF:** a crush.

 **[21:38] The BFF:** on…

 **[21:43] The BFF:** (complete the sentence dude)

 **[21:46] The Dude's Perspective:** I'm gonna shower brb

 **[21:47] LOVER BOY:** on Yaoyorozu?

 **[21:47] The Girl's Perspective:** okay bye deku~

 **[21:47] The BFF:**.

 **[21:47] The BFF:** that took way longer for you to say than i expected

 **[21:48] LOVER BOY:** so what does this mean

 **[21:48] The Girl's Perspective:** -sweatdrops-

 **[21:48] The BFF:** pls gurl its not like youre any better

 **[21:48] LOVER BOY:** what

 _ **The Girl's Perspective**_ _has kicked_ _ **The BFF**_ _from the chat_

 **[21:49] The Girl's Perspective:** don't worry about it

 **[21:49] LOVER BOY:** don't we need her input?

 **[21:50] The Girl's Perspective:** it's cool i'll add her back in a sec

 **[21:50] LOVER BOY:** what was that all about

 **[21:51] The Girl's Perspective:** …

 **[21:51] The Girl's Perspective:** todoroki-kun, you can follow the girl code right?

 **[21:51] LOVER BOY:** would you kindly enlighten me as to what that is

 **[21:52] The Girl's Perspective:** if it looks like a secret

 **[21:52] The Girl's Perspective:** and it /sounds/ like a secret

 **[21:52] The Girl's Perspective:** then it probably is a secret and you don't tell anyone

 **[21:53] LOVER BOY:** that sounds like common sense?

 **[21:53] The Girl's Perspective:** you'd be surprised tbh

 **[21:53] The Girl's Perspective:** anyway, so.

 _ **[Message Deleted]**_

 **[21:56] LOVER BOY:** that's the secret?

 **[21:56] The Girl's Perspective:** well i mean

 _ **[Message Deleted]**_

 _ **[Message Deleted]**_

 **[21:58] LOVER BOY:** you're very knowledgeable about your feelings

 **[21:58] The Girl's Perspective:** tbh i only noticed after mina pointed a bunch of things out

 **[22:02] The Dude's Perspective:** ok I'm back what did I miss

 **[22:03] The Dude's Perspective:** also where did jirou go?

 **[22:03] LOVER BOY:** uraraka had to make sure she didn't do any flagrant cat unbaggings

 **[22:04] The Dude's Perspective:** what?

 **[22:05] LOVER BOY:** potential girl code violation.

 _ **The Girl's Perspective**_ _has added_ _ **Jirou Kyouka**_ _to the chat_

 **[22:06] Kyouka:** , ,mknjbhvgcfdxssxdfcgvhbjn finally

 _ **Jirou Kyouka**_ _has set her nickname to_ _ **The BFF**_

 **[22:07] The BFF:** kk todoroki you know whats going on w/you rn right?

 **[22:08] LOVER BOY:** I have a crush on yaoyorozu

 **[22:08] The BFF:** cool cool youre makig progress

 **[22:08] LOVER BOY:** okay now what

 **[22:09] The BFF:** tell her

 **[22:09] The Girl's Perspective:** hold it in

 **[22:09] The Dude's Perspective:** you just let her know how you feel

 **[22:10] The BFF:** ochako

 **[22:10] The BFF:** we are not jukebox the ghost

 **[22:11] The BFF:** we do not hold things in

 **[22:11] The Girl's Perspective:** ehhhh (~TwT)~

* * *

 _11:42 p.m._

 **[23:42] The BFF:** wait a second

 **[23:42] The BFF:** what the hell happened to this

 **[23:44] The Girl's Perspective:** jirou wtf

 **[23:44] The Girl's Perspective:** it's like almost twelve in the morning what the hell are you trying to do rn gaflkfhdijn

 **[23:45] The Girl's Perspective:** I was tyring to school y'know

 **[23:45] The Dude's Perspective:** hwat's going on

 **[23:45] The BFF:** todoroki like never replied

 **[23:46] The Dude's Perspective:** jirou can we address this in the morning

 **[23:46] The Dude's Perspective:** I need to wake up at five to work out

 **[23:47] The BFF:** sleep is for the WEAK my dude

 **[23:47] The Dude's Perspective:** im, , begginf gyou

 **[23:48] The BFF:** _ **The Girl's Perspective**_

 **[23:48] The BFF:** you room right under yaomomo

 **[23:48] The BFF:** anything going on up theree?

 **[23:49] The Girl's Perspective:** well I can't herar anything so gnite

 **[23:49] The BFF:** OCHAKO I SWEAR TO **GOD**

 **[23:49] The BFF:** that is not what i meant geez pls im begging you is there like some balcony scene going down

 **[23:52] The Girl's Perspective:** uhhhhhhhh

 **[23:53] The Girl's Perspective:** oh fuck

 **[23:54] The Girl's Perspective:** jirou i will drip my dumbbells on you if you interrupt this

 **[23:55] The Dude's Perspective:** what's going on

 **[23:55] The BFF:** ochako pls

 **[23:56] The BFF:** they're talking on yaomomos balcony

 **[23:56] The Dude's Perspective:** ah

 **[23:57] The Dude's Perspective:** wait how did toodroki even get there

 **[23:57] The Girl's Perspective:** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **[23:58] The BFF:** (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

 **[23:58] The BFF:** well that's a wrap guys looks like operation todomomo is sailing and goodnight to all

 **[23:59] The Girl's Perspective:** i feel so bad for iida when he wakes up tomorrow, having to scroll through all this

 **[23:59] The Dude's Perspective:** /i/ feel bad for todoroki kun when he wakes up and reads what happened when he was w/yaomomo

 **[00:00] The Girl's Perspective:** oh right, deku

 **[00:00] The Girl's Perspective:** i forgot to fill you in on one last thing that happened when you were showering

 **[00:01] The Dude's Perspective:** what is it

 _ **[Message Deleted]**_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note viii.** hoo boy that ap test. but i'm back! and okay so yeah usually i consider drabbles less than 1.2k but this is an exception bc it is a chat fic, and all the repeated name tags fluffed up the count on this one. and this is also the first time i have ever written a follow-up in my life because my inspiration can be finicky at times. _

_The only reason I had uraraka delete her confession message and end the fic on **[Message Deleted]** was because this is a todomomo collection, izuocha is a side. If I was going to make this longer and involve more ships then I'd make this its own oneshot. also, because i've gotten asked about it before: no, none of the drabbles are necessarily related or in one timeline even. you're free to imagine them in a chronology though~_

 _anyway, this was fun way to spice up the writing style. i had no idea how reliant i am on wordplay before this. anyway, thanks as always for reading! follow/fave if you're new and enjoying the drabbles, review pls if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaaaat daaaaay~~_


	9. Blossom

**Word Count:** 457

* * *

Momo had never taken Todoroki as the kind of student to sleep during class. Maybe it was something about his serious expression that made her automatically assume he took everything, well, _seriously_. Or perhaps it was after he began going to bed early in order to get enough sleep for Saturdays full of extra lessons that had reinforced the idea that, even if he had failed to get his provisional license, he'd always put in the effort to make up for it.

Hmm. But maybe it was all that serious studiousness that made him so tired so as to fall asleep in class. She couldn't really blame him if that were the case. Plus, Mr. Cementoss didn't exactly have the most entertaining of voices.

And then, she had an idea.

Momo glanced around the room, just in case anyone was watching her at the time. Of course, nobody was. (She supposed sitting in the back corner did have _some_ perks.) So she reached over to her neighbor's desk and doodled a little flower on his unguarded notes. Just a quick little blossom, cheerful and happy amongst his messy bullet points.

Todoroki twitched his nose in his sleep, and Momo quickly retreated, just in case he didn't like her little gift.

Mr. Cementoss's lecture became harder and harder to focus on as Momo continually eyed Todoroki for signs of displeasure at the flower on his notes. However, he didn't actually wake up. It appeared the twitch was merely a reflex. His paper was still unguarded.

Carefully, she reached over and began scribbling yet another flower on his notes, right next to the first, assuming that his slight stirring was just how he slept, but alas, how wrong she was this time. Just as she was adding the finishing touches on her second drawing, Todoroki's eyes fluttered open, and her near-instant withdrawal only served to awaken him further.

Momo pretended to pay full attention to Mr. Cementoss as Todoroki sat properly in his chair and reoriented his still sleep-addled brain. However, when she snuck a glance at him, she found him faintly smiling at the flowers she had drawn. Internally, she smiled back.

 _Success,_ she thought as she was finally able to devote her mind to learning once again.

At the end of the period, she gave his notes a second look, and he noticed. Todoroki quickly stuffed his notes into his bag, and it took most of Momo's effort just not to giggle. It was too late; she had already seen the tiny meadow that filled his margins.

She knew his secret now… even popular sports boys could be just as dorky and cute as everyone else.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note ix._** _by the way if you guys ever have requests I'm always down to hear them. I can't guarantee completion but it isn't hard to tickle my fancy so like at any point you can drop one in the reviews or over on my tumblr askbox, at a-piece-of-shipping-trash._

 _that's all for now! thanks for reading, follow/fave if you're interested etc. etc. review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaat daaaay~~_


	10. start of happily ever after

**Word Count:** 393

* * *

Fairy tales had been Momo's _childhood_. The magic, the adventure, the _happily ever after_ — all this and more helped shape her into the hopeless romantic she was today.

Yet her favorite part had never been the _once upon a time, the end_ ; the acquisition of the plot-saving magical item; not even the moment Prince Charming would save his damsel in distress. All those were well and good, if a little cliché and formulaic at times, and she loved those bits and all, but from the first time she heard one, the part of fairy tales Momo had loved most was very near the end, when all the kingdom cheered for their new queen. That was when all was right and good in the world: everyone was where they belonged, and the happily ever after-ing could begin.

For some reason, all this came to mind as she stood dressed in white with her love, Shoto, before her in front of an audience of, well, _the world_. She smiled to herself; when you were both pro heroes getting married, everyone wanted to see.

Shyly, her very soon-to-be husband smiled slightly back at her, and Momo had to hold in a laugh. Not because it was particularly funny, but she was practically bubbling over with happiness. They'd been waiting a long time for this day, and with the sheer number of their hero friends around, no villain would ever dare even _think_ of ruining the moment.

"…and to enjoy life's simplest pleasures with, for as long as you both shall live?"

Both blinked. Momo panicked; she had _no_ idea whom the officiant was addressing, she was so caught up in her own little world.

"I do," both she and Shoto blurted in unison, and they shared a look of surprise. Judging by his expression, he had probably zoned off as well, and judging by the audience's tittering laughter, they had probably been able to tell.

The officiant gave them an amused smile. Instead of correcting them, saying who it should have been, he simply told them, "You may kiss the bride."

[…]

Her face flushed red from exhilaration of the kiss, Momo slipped her hand into Shoto's, and together, they faced their cheering audience for the first time as husband and wife.

So began the happily ever after.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note x._** _school's out n happy pride month~ thanks for reading, follow/fave if you're new, drop a review if you'd like, and as always, have a greaaat daaay~~~_


	11. Boring

hi there is mentioned izuocha in this chapter.

* * *

 **Word Count:** 1,098

* * *

Whoever thought that hero life was exciting every day wasn't wrong, but they probably never took into account how tiring it could be, living a life full of excitement and adventures.

It wasn't that Shoto minded having an action-packed life as a pro hero, but there were days when he wished he could just fade into the background and have a day to himself. Today was one of those days.

He was on a date with his girlfriend Momo, discussing their escapades of the week in a little ice cream parlour tucked away in the outskirts of the city. For a moment, Momo excused herself to the restroom, leaving Shoto to stare out the parlour window with his chin propped up on his elbow and ponder the passage of time.

It wasn't really an ice cream type of day. After all, in the dead of winter with half a foot of snow outside, not many craved frozen dairy, especially when majority of the population couldn't even digest said dairy products. (Himself included, but _shh_ , Momo had given up trying to stop him.) Well, any day could be an ice cream type of day if you wanted it badly enough. At least the weather meant the two of them had the parlour to themselves— barring the staff, but they had grown used to the heroes' regular presence in the shop.

Shoto closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh, fogging up the window _._

Something soft and delicate ruffled his hair, and he opened his eyes, looking up too see Momo smiling down at him. "I'm back," she said with a smile as she sat down across from him. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"I want to do something boring," Shoto answered, and Momo raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, I'm not sure what could be more boring than a normal date with your lame ol' girlfriend," she replied, sounding just a little unsure how else to respond to him.

"I don't think you're lame," Shoto said without missing a beat. Momo blinked in surprise, but she smiled once the words settled.

"You know, Midoriya and Uraraka announced their engagement the other day," she said, changing the subject, and now it was Shoto's turn to be surprised. "The public's gone wild."

Shoto hummed, mirroring the way Momo lazily stirred her straw around in her cup. It took a second for her to notice, but when she did, she let out a little giggle. Shoto smiled slightly. ( _Wow_ did he love her.)

"We could do that too, you know," he said. He dropped the words as lightly as a feather— astonishing, considering their weight. For all of a moment, it flew right over Momo's head as she passively sipped her milkshake and stared out the window.

"Yeah, I bet we could," she murmured.

Huh. That was weird. Usually _he_ was the one who was bad at picking up cues and reading between the lines. He _still_ wasn't the best at it. Did she think he meant just stirring up gossip? That would be weird. Neither of them had ever been about _that_ life.

"When, though? Neither of us have interviews scheduled for a while, and it would be weird to just tell the public after a catastrophe or rescue." She gave him a sidelong glance, tilting her head slightly in the process.

 _Oh._ She thought he meant officially going public with their relationship. (Yeah, he really needed to get better at this subtlety thing because half the time he came off as plain _vague._ )

"Marry me," he blurted, and the _instant_ the words fell from his lips, there was a little wooden tap as a matryoshka doll clattered onto the glass table. Momo jerked her head to face him head-on with eyes as wide as saucers. Shoto suddenly felt a little shy; she hadn't gawked at him in years. But he continued on as if nothing ever happened. After all, he tried it once today and it hadn't worked, so might as well say everything he had planned. "We could get a house and kids, change your name. It's really boring, but y'know." He shifted in his chair. (Did frost _always_ form indoors as well?) "There's no one I'd rather get old and lame with but you."

 _Ohgeezshewascryingnow._ Well, she cried at a lot of things, but that didn't make him any less terrified. "Uh, Momo?" he nervously asked. He never really did get the hang of comforting someone crying. "Are you— are you okay?" He tentatively reached out, completely ready to back off on both the literal and metaphorical offer of his hand.

She took his hand in both of hers and very slowly drew it up to her face. As Shoto wiped away the tears, she sniffled once, then gurgled her reply, _"Yes."_

It was probably for the best to assume she was only answering the latter question. He probably scared her by bringing it up so suddenly, but that was all right. They could have a proper talk about marriage some other day.

Shoto gently tugged his hand out of Momo's grip, dried her other eye, and began to withdraw, but Momo caught his hand again. She brought it up to her cheek, and Shoto was mildly concerned to note that her eyelashes were still damp when they brushed against his fingertips. "It's warm."

How did she do that? How was she able to put his worries to rest with just the sound of her voice, calm and okay? (He loved that.)

She let go of his hand and cleared away the last of her tears clinging to her eyelashes by herself. "I'd love to marry you," she whispered, and somehow, those five words managed to lift a weight off Shoto's heart that he hadn't even realized was there. "I love you."

Shoto averted his eyes and hid a cough. Even though he asked the question expecting this answer, hearing it for himself was something else. "Love you too."

Man, maybe getting married _wasn't_ the most boringly normal thing they could be doing right now if it was going to feel like _this_ all the time. He stole a glance at his now-fiancée as she hummed a little tune and stared out the window, sipping her milkshake again.

But maybe that was okay. Unlike the misadventures of hero life, Shoto could never tire of his time well-spent with Momo.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xi._** _hello hello, i listen to way too much jukebox the ghost. this was inspired by their song_ boring _, and i referenced their song_ hold it in _in chapter eight. ANYWAY currently wondering if my characterization is really remaining true to their canon personalities or if i'm falling into the same traps of fanon. -w-" i Fear._

 _i know it's summer and all and while i do have oodles more free time, i've been studying organic chemistry during the daylight hours so really this won't update any more frequently than it did during the school year._

 _also considering clarifying that the drabbles aren't necessarily related in the summary, but that's more of an afterthought. so anyway thanks for reading, i love you all v much. follow/fave if you're new, drop a review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaaat daaaayyyy~~~~~~_


	12. Love?

**Word Count:** 414

* * *

Did Momo ever think about their earlier days? About when they first met at the recommendation tests? About when they were just fifteen and fumbling their way through Aizawa-sensei's final exam? About that night at the end of their first year when their lips accidentally met in the dark of night? About the start of their second year and of them as a _thing_ soon after?

Shoto rarely did. He was never one to really reminisce about the times gone by. And yet, now that he had begun, he found it near impossible to stop.

How had they gotten away with all they did? The sloppy kisses in empty halls, the dumb notes passed in lectures, the hand holding in crowded pavilions. The looks they'd send each other when someone brought up intraclass relationships— they thought they were being _subtle_ back then. They thought they had been _great_ at keeping their relationship a secret from everyone. _Why_ Aizawa-sensei would never reprimand them for letting it interfere with their lives was a perpetual mystery.

They had been so young, far too young. To be sixteen and declaring their love, not knowing the full meaning and weight of the word. Ridiculous. Yet somehow they made it work. A wedding, three kids (with a fourth on the way), and strenuous jobs made them learn. Love was not the feeling fluttering in the heart. Love was not a breathless kiss shared in the rain. Love was not a starry-eyed sigh of desire.

Love was commitment, love was devotion; love was a choice.

(And okay, _maybe_ love was also a little bit of all the things mentioned before mixed in with drowsy cuddles at half past five in the morning, he thought as he kissed his wife on the forehead moments before he had to leave for work.)

"Leaving so soon?" Momo mumbled, sleepily peeking through her lashes at Shoto.

"Yeah," he replied, looking back at her. "I'll miss you."

"I love you."

They had been young, too young when they first said it. Even now, were their older selves looking back upon their present selves and laughing at their naivete? A lifetime of those three words stood before them; could they mean it all the same each time? Only time would tell, but then again, it was hard to see eye to eye with time. And yet…

"I love you, too."

The door clicked quietly shut behind him, and the day began.

* * *

 ** _author's note xii._** _this actually came up because i sometimes compare characters' canonical ages to those of my underclassmen and i'm like "pssh that's too young" so i've noticed myself actually aging the characters up as i too grow older. and like okay maybe i'm literal years (maybe even a decade) away from the ages portrayed in the last couple drabbles, but lately i've just been... drawn? to older narratives. idk man. high school isn't the be-all end-all of one's life._

 _anyway (i totally don't have like six half-started drabbles lying around shh) thanks for reading~ follow/fave if you're new, review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaaat daaaayyyy~~~_


	13. here, kitty, kitty

**Word Count:** 411

* * *

"I love you," Shoto whispered, but it was not directed at her.

Not that Momo minded, of course! Why would she, after all? He was allowed to say whatever he wanted to whomever he pleased, but still! It was nice, as his girlfriend and all, to hear it said to her.

But then again, the cat _was_ pretty cute, just lying there and batting at the reed she dangled for it, with its soft belly exposed to the two young adults crouching next to it.

This was how their dates usually went. Every so often, when schoolwork became a drag, and their friends had all paired off, Shoto and Momo would quietly sneak out of the dorms and into the city for a walk. From there, they'd wander through the streets, sometimes hand-in-hand, sometimes with their fingers just barely brushing, until more often than not they landed on a shady park bench. Cats often turned up sooner or later throughout the day.

Shoto seemed to notice the way she wordlessly fidgeted with the reed's stalk, and he nudged her gently. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

Momo dropped the plant straight into the cat's tiny, gaping maw, and it jankily chewed the twig. She watched for a moment as it snapped its jaws over the beaten stem. Her weight fell from the balls of her feet onto her heels as she relaxed and hugged her knees to her chest. "Yeah," she answered, quietly, genuinely, and with a ghost of a smile playing upon her lips.

And it was true, she _was_ fine.

The cat grew bored of the reed in its mouth and let it slip out. It blinked slowly at the teenagers, then rolled over and began to saunter away.

Momo glanced up and met Shoto's gaze; she brought her smile to life.

His concern faded away, and he stood up once more. He extended a hand to her, which she gladly accepted.

"Thank you," she said, her heart feeling strangely full and happy compared to the undefinable melancholy of before.

Shoto simply nodded, holding tight to her hand when usually by now, he would have habitually let go. His meaning was plain without words.

 _("I love you.")_

She squeezed back, grateful for the reassurance. She had been fine, and he had known it, but it was still the best feeling to know he cared enough it up to her anyway.

"Let's go home."

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xiii._** _i was out w/my sister seeing her friends— my old senpais— again, and one of them told me she n her boyfriend went around campus petting cats as dates. yeah. that's such a tdmm thing, y'know?_

 _anyway. school began on the tenth. ;-;. thank you for reading, follow/fave if you're new, review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaat daaayyy~~_


	14. magic 8 ball

**Word Count:** 843

* * *

"8 ball! Will Ochako confess to Midoriya soon?"

"Hey!"

Momo diligently worked on the last of her homework as all the girls crowded on her bed for a Saturday night sleepover. Somehow, in some way, Mina had gotten her hands on one of those old Magic 8 Balls, and as a result, had chosen to open up the night with asking it all sorts of invasive questions about _all_ of their future love lives. So far, Mina herself was destined to be the forever alone matchmaker, but Tooru would reliably get a kiss sometime in the next two months. Now, it was Ochako's turn to be prodded at.

 _" 'Don't count on it.' "_ Mina read aloud, and she and the girls took a second to translate the answer in their heads.

"Awwww," Tooru sighed, disappointed, but Ochako seemed almost a little relieved.

"I don't have time to go confessing, you know, Mina. I have to put all that aside to focus on becoming a hero. I _told_ you all this before," she told them.

"Oh, _please!_ There's always time for romance!"

Momo bit her eraser and tuned the girls out. She wasn't particularly concerned for Ochako's situation; she found it quite an admirable decision, in fact. She herself was in the process of figuring out some rather confusing feelings toward one Todoroki Shoto and wondered, nearly _hoped,_ that they hadn't turned romantic the way Ochako's had for Midoriya. She wasn't sure she could make the same commitment Ochako had.

"8 ball! Will Momo get a boyfriend this year?"

Momo looked up in startlement as Mina brazenly asked such a thing. _"What?"_ she cried in disbelief, but none of the other girls were listening to her; instead, they sat huddled around Mina as she flipped the ball over for another answer.

 _" 'It is certain.' "_ Again, a beat passed before the girls responded, though this time with excited screaming.

"Girls, _please,"_ Momo begged, pushing aside her homework as Mina tried to leap over to her. "This doesn't _mean_ anything."

"I mean," Tsuyu said amidst the chaos, putting a thoughtful finger to her chin, "it's not fun if you _don't_ believe it at least a little bit."

"Besides, Yaomomo, don't you have someone you like?" Kyouka slyly added as Momo's heart skipped a beat. (Was she right?)

By the time she managed to fend off an overexcited Mina, it was too late to stop the growing blush upon her cheeks. "D-d-define _like,"_ she stuttered.

Tooru heaved an exasperated sigh and fell down onto Momo's bed in a heap. "C'mon, Yaomomo, _you're_ the smart one! You already know what we mean."

Momo brushed a wisp of her bangs out of her eyes, made her way over to her bed, and plopped down with all the other girls, homework decidedly abandoned. "Well…" she began _("I don't know."),_ but at that exact moment, someone knocked at the door.

All the girls froze, and one by one, each pair of eyes landed on Momo. She was the most capable of taking out a serial killer if, by some stray chance that's who it happened to be, and it _was_ her room, after all. Momo gave herself a second to cool down, then excused herself.

"Hello?" she said as she opened the door, but whatever other greeting she had stirring in her mind died in her throat when she saw Todoroki standing in front of her, staring intently.

"I could hear you all from across the hall, and I came to make sure no one was dying," he said evenly.

Momo flushed bright red again, tempted to shoot the girls a look, but she cleared her throat and kept her composure somehow. "I-I can assure you, Todoroki, that we are all just fine. The girls just got a little overexcited for a moment, s-s-so don't worry about it!"

Todoroki blinked at her as she nervously flattened the wisps of hair that had escaped from her ponytail. "All right, if you insist," he said at last, and the room remained silent while all the girls watched him plod away.

Momo closed the door with a relieved sigh. The knowledge that something beyond her control was going on both in her feelings and her life sank into her consciousness for the first time. She braced herself for the girls' next attack, but it never came.

She cracked open an eye and saw that Mina in particular had an especially terrifying gleam in her eye.

"The 8 ball doesn't lie, Yaomomo," she said, almost a little ominously.

"We can always ask it if it's lying," Momo replied, knowing better than to hope so.

"We're not going to do that," Mina said.

Momo sighed for what now felt like the thousandth time. There really was no getting out of this. _Time to accept my fate and face the music._

"All right, what do you want to know?"

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xiv._** _sorry for being gone, and for not really having this drabble go anywhere. o-o'. there was this fiasco that happened about a month ago where my first year chem teacher found and read some of my fanfiction and YEAH. sometimes i embarrass mySELF with how much crappy romance i write. so suffice to say, it was rather hard to work on any of the stuff i was working on at the time, which i find a real shame bc i was pretty close to done with this one drabble. we'll have to see what happens to all those mini wips._

 _anyway i was playing with an 8 ball the other day with friends and it said it was certain i'd get a boyfriend this year so let me just say that i am Ready. yeah from an interrogation of the 8 ball, it's probably going to be another gag bf but hey y'all, a boyfriend is a boyfriend. i go t this._

 _sooo yeeee. thank you for reading, follow/fave if you've been enjoying the collection, leave a review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaat daaayyy~~~~_


	15. ramble

_first au of the series! yay. basically an_ _au in which shoto is a first gen mixed kid living in america w/his mom, and because his dad cut the family off, rei rents out their house's spare rooms to help pay for natsuo's college tuition to no less than one yaoyorozu momo and jirou kyouka from japan_

* * *

 **Word Count:** 1,199

* * *

College is expensive.

Shoto may not know this firsthand _yet_ , but his elder brother Natsuo sure did. That's why their mother was renting out rooms for the summer while Natsuo himself worked a night shift at a boba shop.

Both of those contribute to the current situation: Shoto following two girls awkwardly around the mall as they chat in Japanese too rapid for him to fully comprehend. It's definitely something, yeah, and Shoto would _not_ have been there if they hadn't been given explicit instructions to have the girls accompanied by someone in the host family at all times for safety reasons. Shoto had never expected to play bodyguard for a foreign rich girl and her best friend in order to keep his brother out of debt, but hey. Sometimes things just happen.

Except he still kind of wishes they didn't because he _hates_ shopping, and the three of them aren't going to get picked up for another four hours.

Jirou's phone buzzes in her pocket, and both girls abruptly stop in their tracks. Jirou babbles something to Yaoyorozu so quickly that Shoto, again, cannot understand, but her eyes are alight with a particular form of giddiness that he can't quite understand. Immediately, she taps the screen, the phone is up against her ear, and it looks almost as if tears are forming in her eyes as she starts talking into the thing.

Yaoyorozu slows down and falls in step with Shoto, allowing Jirou to be lost in her own little world, talking with…

"Her boyfriend called," Yaoyorozu says to him in English, and Shoto turns to face her, blinking in surprise. Her accent is near flawless, although his native-speaking ears can still pick up on it. She looks straight ahead, a fond smile upon her face and her hands clasped together behind her back. She carries herself with the grace and elegance of a proper young lady, practically swishing and gliding alongside him. "Kaminari-kun has had to take remedial courses over the summer break, so they haven't had much time to talk since we got here."

"…I see," Shoto says slowly, quite frankly wondering why she was talking to him. She was rich, right? That meant that, back home, she probably had a lot of hired help who probably got ignored most of the time. Couldn't she just ignore him like that? "What time is it over there?"

Yaoyorozu looks thoughtful for a moment. "Around eleven in the morning, I suppose. Usually he doesn't wake up until three in the afternoon on breaks," she replies. She tilts her head slightly, laughs lightly through her nose. "I think he likes her a lot."

Up ahead, Jirou slows to a stop in one of those rest areas, plops down in one of the couches, and switches her phone from one ear to the other. She snorts with laughter for a moment, but abruptly stops when she notices him and Yaoyorozu approaching.

Yaoyorozu tugs on his shirt sleeve, guiding him away from Jirou to give her privacy. Which is silly, Shoto thinks, since he can't understand just about anything she's saying, and from what he's seen of these girls, they're both rather shy. She couldn't be saying something so embarrassing that her best friend couldn't hear it, right?

"Kyouka-chan doesn't like people to know a lot about her relationship with Kaminari-kun," Yaoyorozu explains as she sits herself and Shoto down on a different couch out of earshot. "She's very easily embarrassed about things close to her heart."

"Like what?" Shoto finds himself asking.

Yaoyorozu shrugs, as if she doesn't know. "Music I know is one of them. I couldn't get her to bring her guitar along to America, but she plays very well."

Shoto nods, not particularly sure what to do with any of the information Yaoyorozu has been giving him in the last few minutes. He doesn't plan on getting to know either of them a whole lot over the course of the summer, but he also doesn't want to seem like a cold host. Natsuo _does,_ after all, need the money.

Yaoyorozu doesn't say a word after that, and Shoto decides it's safe to take out his phone and start playing with it. Every few minutes, he looks up and checks on both girls, but Jirou always remains lost in her own little world, and Yaoyorozu appears to have gotten lost in her own musings.

(He vaguely wonders what she's thinking about.)

"Oi, Yaoyorozu," he says once he gets bored with this, but she doesn't seem to hear him, so he says again, louder: " _Yaoyorozu."_

Again, nothing.

He turns his full attention to her, waves a hand in front of her face. " _Yaoyorozu,"_ he says, a little sharply, and _now_ she returns to him with a start.

" _Sorry!"_ she gasps, then blushes when she realizes she's just spoken in Japanese.

" _Don't… worry abou— about it."_ Shoto stumbles through his words, the language having long left a bitter taste in his mouth because of his father, but for some reason, talking to Yaoyorozu with it feels… worthwhile.

Yaoyorozu blinks at him owlishly, then says something he can't understand at all. He must look confused because when he opens his mouth to ask, she simply waves him off.

"It was nothing important," she sheepishly says, changing to English again. Shoto isn't exactly sure of this, but there's not much he can do. "Did you want something?"

Now it's his turn to stare at her, for he's quite frankly forgotten already. "Uhh…" he says, racking his brains for something about her he doesn't know, but would rather _like_ to know. "What's your name?"

She flushes slightly. "O-oh, well, you can just call me Momo. It's a little strange to be called by my surname in English. Your name is Shoto, correct?"

That catches him off-guard again. "Er, yes?"

"How do you— how do you…" she plays at the air as if trying to grab something, and he can tell she's forgotten the word in English. She pulls a notebook out of her purse and quickly flips to a fresh page. "Do you know how to—" she mimes writing in the book.

"Write it?" he supplies, and her face lights up in a way that makes his chest feel warm and fuzzy. He shakes his head at her. "Not in Japanese, no."

Her expression turns crestfallen. "Ah, that is kind of sad, is it not? It is a very nice name." (Shoto flushes a little at this; he isn't used to compliments being paid to him rather than thrown _at_ him.)

"How… how would you guess it's written?" he asks, feeling strangely nervous now.

Yaoyorozu— Momo now, he supposes— ponders the question for a moment, then pulls a pen out of her bag and writes out two characters. Her writing is cute and neat, and he stares at it for a while.

 **焦凍**.

Jirou breaks the spell. "I am ready to continue," she says, her accent much more pronounced than Momo's.

Momo caps her pen, shuts her notebook, and slides them both into her purse again. She smiles at Shoto as she joins Jirou again.

For some reason, he wishes Jirou took longer.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xv._** _HELLO you will pry the headcanon that todo's mom is scandanavian therefore making the todokids mixed out of my cold, dead hapa hands._ _i'm kinda surprised it took this long to get an au drabble out, but then again my aus tend to get longer than drabble length. i worked p hard to keep this one drabble length bc if i didn't have self-control it'd turn into a whole multi-chap bc i actually have enough plot written out for that but i haven't the tIME. ;-;_

 _this is one of those drabbles i had lying around half-finished that i couldn't bring myself to work on after the fanfiction fiasco hahaha, but basically this is what my parents do to pay for my sister's college, just with kids from china. we got a long-term boarder for the year actually, but we had to kick him out because he was failing all his classes, wouldn't do anything but lie in his room talking on his phone, and smoked in the bathroom and lied about it. he was basically licking the bottom of the barrel_ — _not even scraping,_ licking— _but he was good money for the six weeks we had him._

 _anyway yeah! thank you for reading, follow/fave if you're new and interested, leave a review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaat daaaayyy~~~_


	16. Be Calm

**Word Count:** 543

* * *

Shoto didn't think he'd ever like being touched. When he was younger, once his mother was gone, to be touched was a thing of pain and violence. Growing older, the blows began to slow, but the gentle memories still faded. He never touched his peers; they returned the favor. By the time he hit high school, he was used to keeping to himself and touching as little as he could.

But they say love changes a person, though he wouldn't say he liked Yaoyorozu's touch because _he_ loved _her._ Rather, it seemed the opposite; he enjoyed her touch because _she_ loved _him,_ and he could feel it in her delicate, feather touches.

Shoto never paid much mind to his hair, to how kempt he looked He rarely combed, since his hair was short and smooth and hard to tangle. And this didn't really matter anyway; he was fine as long as he looked presentable.

But he never considered the pure sensation of a brush running through his hair, of soft hands softly detangling strands. It never occurred to him that something so mundane could result in such profound feelings.

He never thought he'd like being touched.

Yaoyorozu hummed as she worked, a tuneless little thing, as she ran her fingers through his hair, gathering and brushing and smoothing and gathering and brushing and smoothing, over and over again. Shoto sat between her knees at the foot of her bed, tempted to lay his head on her lap and simply stare up at her. But that would disrupt her brushing, and her loving touch was precious to him by now.

"What's your favorite fairy tale?" she asked him in that absent way of hers, the way that sounded both as if she listened to nothing but her own thoughts and every word you said at the same time. Her voice was almost like a daydream, light as a cloud and as beautiful as a fantasy.

Shoto ruminated for a while. Yaoyorozu waited patiently, her hands never wavering from their steady rhythm of brushing his hair.

"Rapunzel," he answered at last. He couldn't say exactly why he chose the tale, only that it popped into his mind as something he could find close to home.

"Rapunzel," Yaoyorozu repeated, musing. "What's your favorite part of Rapunzel?"

"The tower," Shoto immediately replied, and Yaoyorozu paused for a moment.

"What do you like about the tower?" she asked after a spell, resuming her task of brushing.

Shoto tilted his head and thought. (He didn't know; he just _said_ it.) "It's quiet and isolated there," he decided. Peace and quiet was nice. Being alone was nice.

Yaoyorozu didn't ask any further questions. She simply set the brush aside, ran her fingers through his now-immaculate hair, and planted a delicate butterfly kiss atop his head. "Are you feeling better now?" she asked as he gave in to his temptations and laid his head upon her lap.

Shoto hummed and nodded, but he didn't feel like saying anything at the moment.

"I'm glad you've calmed down," Yaoyorozu said, her quiet voice laced with a fine thread of happiness.

Shoto closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xvi._** _i brush my friends' hair a lot these days when they're upset or sad and need calming down._

 _personally i think this drabble has that casual kind of non-sexual intimacy that i'm rather fond of so yeah i did write this in one sitting. so yeah! thank you for reading, follow/fave if you're new, leave a review if that's what you're into, r is a vowel, and as always, have a greaaaat daaaayyy~~~_


	17. favor

**Word Count:** 1,107

* * *

Shoto breathed hard, just now feeling the sharp chill of the cold night air sinking its sharp, needly teeth into his skin as he dazedly turned his head to the night sky. The city lights kept some of the fainter stars from showing face, but what he could see still calmed him as they were.

He took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then blew it all out in a white, foggy puff. He hadn't wanted to run away in the winter, but he couldn't live at home anymore.

Shoto shivered, his blurry memories of the last hour already hazing away into fuzzy shapes and dim shouts. Already, he was forgetting what had actually happened, but he trusted his instincts. They'd tell him when to fight and when to freeze. And now, they'd pointed him to flight, and who was he to hesitate?

He closed his eyes, his breath finally steadying. _Where would he go?_ He wondered as he adjusted his grip on his emergency backpack. Opening his weary eyes, he fell in a heap onto a public bench and pulled out his phone, staring at his contacts.

He definitely couldn't go to Midoriya's place. That would be the first place anyone in his house would go looking for him. He didn't want to burden Uraraka's parents with an extra mouth to feed, especially at this time of the year. As far as anyone knew, Iida lived in the classroom.

Who else, who else? Shoto's mind was tired, indescribably so, but the freezing wind kept his eyes from closing on him. There was hardly anyone on his phone other than those three and his siblings, except—

He hit the bottom of the admittedly very short list.

 _Yaoyorozu._

She was kind enough to take in a stray like him, and everyone knew her as the class rich girl. He'd been to her house once, for a math project, so it wasn't like he didn't know where she lived.

But— did they know each other well enough? That he could just show up on her doorstep at ten at night, shivering cold with nothing but a backpack and the clothes on his back, and ask if he could live with her for the break? They— they were friends (at least he thought so), but could he do that to her? It would feel like he was using her.

His phone screen went to sleep, and he didn't yet bother turning it on again.

The thing was, he _needed_ to use someone, something to help him get back on his feet again, and if he didn't find that someone or something real soon, he might as well curl up and freeze to death on the bench tonight. (His body had its limits, and he was running straight into them at times like these.)

He pulled his knees up to his chest, trying to stave off the temperature with nothing but his body heat for just a little while longer, and stiffly adjusted his grip on his phone.

 _Relationships aren't always fifty-fifty, Shoto,_ Fuyumi would sometimes tell him. _Sometimes they're going to be forty-sixty, or ninety-ten, but that's okay. If someone wants to put in that ninety percent into your relationship, then you should let them, knowing you'd do them same for them if they needed it._

Shoto turned on his phone and scratched out his passcode. Mimi was right more often than not. He could trust her, the same way he could trust his instincts. Who was he to say no when both told him to call?

There was a rush of air as someone picked up the other line almost immediately after he dialed.

 _ **"Todoroki-san?"**_ Yaoyorozu's voice came from out the other end. She sounded a little confused, but its gentle, familiar sound was enough to make Shoto feel warm all over again.

 _"Hey, Yaoyorozu,"_ he said, his throat dry and rough from the cold and the running. _"I have a favor to ask of you."_

* * *

And that was how Momo ended up with her classmate Todoroki looking like a drowned kitten, sitting on the edge of her bed. She wasn't sure how to think or what to feel quite yet either; it was like a whirlwind had struck her head from the moment she picked up his call and kept her from fully processing the dream playing out before her.

"Thank you for letting me stay," Todoroki said, his voice hoarse and tired and a little bit sleepy now that he'd warmed up a bit. "I know it's short notice and all. You really didn't have to do this for me."

Momo turned around to look at him again, resting her head on the chair backing. "Don't worry about it," she said, feeling sleepy herself now. (She flicked her eyes towards the clock— a quarter past eleven. Way past her bedtime.) "What kind of hero wouldn't help someone who was asking for it?"

Todoroki fidgeted with his hands. "You're very kind."

Momo felt like one of those 90's anime characters, with the big ol' sweatdrop of well-meaning exasperation running down her forehead. "Don't worry about it," she kindly said, getting up. "I'm going to go check if the maid has your room set up, so stay here for now, okay?"

"Okay," the boy mumbled as she left the room.

He was asleep when she returned just a few minutes later, passed out sitting up on the foot of her bed.

Well, this was awkward. And a little embarrassing.

Momo held in the urge to sigh and smile as Todoroki keeled over in his sleep, somehow not waking when his head hit the bed itself. (She'd always taken him for a light sleeper, but then again, there was that one time he fell asleep in class…)

Well, she certainly couldn't be sleeping in here tonight, unless she decided to wake him up and drag him through the maze that was her mansion into his bedroom for the time being. But she didn't have the heart to do that, so she decided, as she draped one of her spare blankets over Todoroki's sleeping form and flicked off the lights, to simply leave him be. The guest rooms were just as nice as the regular rooms; she would do him the favor and sleep there for tonight.

"Sweet dreams," she whispered to him as she closed the door behind her.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xvii._** _you know i almost typed out "dear diary" instead of "author's note" just now and i mean i write my diary by hand but just goes to show how buck wild these last three weeks have been. those of you who read orchid or follow me on tumblr will know that i had a fake dating thing almost happen at the start of this month and y'know wow that was haha fucken buck wild._

 _the fake dating thing is actually where i pulled the "pulling a favor" / "relationships aren't always 50/50" thing from bc let me tell you asking a boy you've been talking to for two days to be your fake boyfriend for a night is indeed asking for a lot but i did it anyway. and he was pretty willing too so uh long story short i have made a friend now. not a boyfriend. he is not my boyfriend we are not actually romantically compatible imo. but a friend and yeah this is bitchin'._

 _but yeah happy holidays i'm not dead yay. gonna go out and see the white relatives real soon yeehaw. (i almost said 'sincerely yours' here instead of 'thanks for reading' so again just goes to show how much diary writing i've been doing as of late ahhh) so yeah you know the drill thanks for reading love you all follow/fave if you're new, leave a review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaaat daaaaayyyy~~~~~~~~~~~_


	18. sometimes the kitchen gets set on fire

**Word Count:** 740

* * *

It was Momo's idea to name their firstborn Yuki.

He was born early one December morning. A snowstorm raged on outside, the coldest day of the year, and when he was returned to them, warm and clean and small, a soft down of white crowned his head like the snowfall outside. With poffs of white released with his every tiny breath, it seemed clear to them he would have an ice quirk later on in life. It only seemed fitting at the time.

But genetics were a messy, unpredictable thing.

He was three when his quirk manifested, already hell bent on terrorizing his new little sister with his equally new quirk.

It was a long day, to say the least.

It began when the smoke alarm went off.

Sleep depravity did a lot to a person, even when that person was a pro hero. Managing a toddler was no small feat; add in three months of on-and-off night shifts caring for a baby, and things could get more than a little hectic. Knowing that, who could have blamed Shoto for forgetting breakfast on the stove?

 _"Dad-dad-dad-dad-dad-dad-daddyyyy,"_ Yuki chanted, kicking his legs back and forth as he sat in front of the dining table. "Mommy's not here."

"She's sleeping," Shoto replied, too scared of burning this round of breakfast to take his eyes off it.

"Dad-dad-dad-dad-dad-dad-dad," Yuki repeated, his chair now scraping against the tile floor with all the force he was putting into his kicks. _"Dad-dad-dad-dad-dad-dad-daaaaaddyyyyy."_

"Yes, Yuki?"

"Fuuka smells funny."

"And you can smell her from all the way over there?"

"YEAH."

Shoto yawned and turned down the flame. Yuki had a terrible habit of exaggerating in the works already, but it wouldn't hurt to investigate anyway. Just another thing to add to the mountain of chores piling up.

"Daddaddaddaddad."

"Yes, Yuki?"

"You're not looking at me."

With half a sigh, Shoto turned to face his children. In that moment, he saw his small, white-haired son grinning madly as he kicked his feet back and forth with what must have been all his strength, said feet quite clearly on fire. For that moment, everything was quiet; after all, sleep depravity did a lot to a person.

"Look, look, look! I got my quirk, see-see-seeee?" Yuki chirped. " _Whoosh…"_

Shoto wasn't sure what was going on for the moment, but he figured it out when his son kicked down so hard, he launched himself out of his chair. In an instant, Shoto darted over and caught Yuki just in time before the kid met his certain doom against the tile floor. (He was lucky he already had a fire quirk himself, or else that would have been a nasty burn.)

Yuki laughed and kicked up a few more flames as Shoto carefully set him back down on the tile floor. That was a close one.

Or so he thought until the smoke alarm began to shriek.

Because obviously even though the day had hardly begun, Shoto had already given up. It was just one of those days. _This might as well happen._

With a sigh, he frosted over the kitchen, then thawed it out again half a second later (ruining breakfast _again,_ just as you do). Dazed, he couldn't think or hear very much as he put Yuki back in his chair and meandered over to the stove to shut off the gas; he was officially out for the day. Midoriya could cover his shift, honestly.

"I was looking forward to that, you know."

The world snapped back into crystal clarity right as the mess that had been breakfast hit the trash bag, and Shoto's head instinctively shot in the direction of the voice. "Momo," he breathed.

She gazed at him fondly from the doorway where she leant, her arms crossed and an amused smile on her face. "It's okay," she said, stretching out and carefully tiptoeing across the puddled kitchen floor to help him out.

"MOOMMYYYYY!" Yuki half screamed, which made sense because he was a kid who had just gotten his quirk. "LOOK WHAT I CAN DOOOO~"

Shoto felt a little less exhausted, hearing his wife laugh at Yuki's antics and say, "That's good, Yuki! I'm very proud of you."

Today would be fine.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xviii._** _so yuki's name is_ 雪 _for snow, and fuuka's is_ 風香 _bc it's the name of a character in yotsubato! and it is in some way related to her quirk. which is secret for now, but yeah! yuki's quirk is called_ hearth _, and he can basically spawn flames with his own movement. fire on him can stay lit indefinitely, but if it spreads, it'll go out on its own if he goes too far away. he's the center of the hearth y'all. don't worry; he's the only one whose name isn't related to his quirk. i just thought it'd be funny ahaha._

 _you guys actually have no idea how long i've been sitting on this omg. most of it was written before the fanfiction fiasco back in what, august? september? yeah around then. and then the fiasco happened and i became too embarrassed to even think of finishing this, so getting this done has been. a struggle. i'm still kind of embarrassed thinking about it bc i don't think it's really That Great Quality, but it's something for now. finally, finally, i've begun the introductory drabbles to their kids. i'll probs be doing them in their birth order so. yeeeeee._

 _other than that yeah been kinda off the radar lately i guess but yeah! thank you for reading, follow/fave if you're new and havin fun, leave a review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaat daaaayyyy~~~_


	19. Kitchen Sink

**Word Count:** 729

* * *

He heard her footsteps coming down the stairs, soft and shy, but he didn't look up from his glass of water.

They continued closer as he took a sip, the refreshing chill keeping what little exhaustion in his eyelids at bay. It was just one of those nights where no matter what, he couldn't fall asleep. So why bother?

She stopped just a few feet away from him, but he continued to stubbornly stare at the cabinet door in front of him. He thought of fidgeting with his glass so as to look idle— his brain was so helplessly preoccupied with thoughts of appearing idle so as to block out the clinking of mugs as she sifted through the cupboard for a proper glass— but at the same time, he was frozen in place, unable to lift a finger. For what reason, he didn't want to think about (for he was afraid of the answer if he was even able to speak the truth).

There was a pause in her shifting, and for a moment, the only things to be heard were the chirping of the summer crickets, the faint hum of the kitchen lights, and the giggles of two girls still left in the guest room.

(And the pounding of Shoto's heart in his ears, but the window was open, so he pretended it was just the night breeze.)

Shoto broke the silence by taking another sip of his water. (Suddenly, the chill no longer held any bite.) Momo broke the tension by finally saying something.

"Hey."

(That was _his_ line.)

"Hey," he returned, shifting his position for the first time in what felt like forever. He still didn't want to look at her.

So he didn't.

He finished off his glass of water just as she began to fill her own.

"Sorry if we have been keeping you up with our chatter," Momo said, just as he was about to retreat back to his and Natsu's room. (He suddenly noticed how much her accent had improved over the summer.) "I know you do not like having your sleep interrupted."

Shoto hesitated, his hand lingering on his empty glass as he stared at it. (What should he say? What should he say? That it wasn't her fault? That it was summer; it didn't matter anyway?)

"It's all right," he muttered eventually, releasing the glass and starting to leave.

"Wait," Momo said, and for the first time that night, Shoto looked at her, surprised. He'd never heard her speak out like that, and seeing her rather embarrassed expression, it wasn't hard to figure out that she also wasn't used to it.

"Would you please stay here with me?" she asked, suddenly the exact same shy, soft-spoken girl at the start of the summer. She shifted her gaze away, breaking whatever eye contact they held for that half second, and fidgeted with her glass. "I really enjoy your company."

Suddenly, Shoto felt very tired. (He told himself such; he wasn't afraid of something like this.) "Uh." _No, thank you, I'm—_

Momo timidly looked in his direction again, and a lump formed in his throat when their eyes met once more.

"Yeah," he said, his voice low and strangely hoarse. He began to shuffle back to the kitchen sink, closer to where she sat upon the counter. "I can do that."

Momo let out a breath all in a rush, smiling a tired, dazed smile. (Shoto's heart skipped a beat upon seeing it, his breath hitching in his throat.) "Thank you," she said, and in that moment, all the tension Shoto had held inside simply melted away.

He didn't know what to say.

(It was getting harder for him to ignore that nagging thought in the back of his mind, the one that claimed to be the truth.)

"It's no big deal," he replied at last, breaking gaze. He leaned against the counter, actively fighting the urge to sit on it with her.

Momo hummed in reply, and for yet another short while, it was just the two of them. Chilling by the kitchen sink at half past one in the morning on a hot summer's night with nothing and no one but each other to keep company.

It was nice.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xix._** _been a while. i know. it's whatever. sat down and wrote this all today. first time i've written fic like, literally all year. i'm not kidding. so yeah, this is probably rusty and partially ooc at the very least. i'm not making any promises towards more frequent updates_ _— a more detailed explanation's up on ao3 probably. but i mean i'm alive and kicking, and i promise to stay alive to the best of my abilities, whether i update or not. cool beans?_

 _cool beans._

 _thank you for reading, i'm pretty sure we've peaked with follows/faves but if you're new, go ahead and prove me wrong, leave a review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaat daaaayyy~~~_


	20. Two Birds

**Word Count:** 804

* * *

 _Two birds on a wire._

Momo stared at them, cuddled close together, from the other side of her dorm room window.

 _One began to fly away_ _**and the other**_

There was a knock at her door. Unstartled, she lifted her chin from where it rested on her palm and looked over her shoulder at the door. "Come in," she called, calm as a breeze. "It's unlocked."

The doorknob rattled, and in poked Todoroki's head. "Yo."

Momo cocked her head at him. "Todoroki-san," she greeted, turning around in her chair. "Come in."

 **watches them close from that wire.**

Todoroki slipped in, politely closing the door behind himself. Momo watched, curious as ever, as he settled down on her bed, facing her but looking away at the same time.

"I need some help with this one equilibrium question," he said, producing a pen from his pocket and his homework from, well… nowhere in particular, actually; she just didn't notice the worksheet when he walked in.

"Is it the EDTA question?"

 **They say they want to as well,**

Todoroki looked up, their eyes met, and suddenly, Momo's heart skipped a beat and the moment they both spent staring at one another felt like the longest eternity of her life (but was probably pretty much nothing, really (even if it felt like forever)).

 **but they are a liar.**

He blinked. (Time resumed as normal, but he didn't look away…) "Yeah," he breathed, as though surprised that she had guessed it correctly.

(This was a bit much; she had to turn away.)

 **I'll believe it all.**

Momo held out her hand for his homework whilst turning back to her desk. "It's a bit of a trick question, you see. When you have a K value that high…"

 _(There was nothing she didn't understand, was there?)_

* * *

 _Two birds on a wire._

Sprawled out on the rich girl's bed, two kids watched them preen each other from the other side of her dorm room window.

At last, Momo stirred; it was nearing suppertime. Sitting up, she said, not ungently, _"C'mon,_ Todoroki-san. You seem to have gotten a fair enough grasp of the material. We should head down to dinner."

Todoroki grunted. _"I'm tired,"_ he half-sighed.

Momo bit her lip and stared out the window, beyond the birds at the overcast sky. Well, a minute early or a minute late, no one would worry that much. She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. _I'm sorry,_ she thought, a silent apology to whoever prepared dinner that evening, as she lay down again.

* * *

 **Two birds of a feather.**

It was nice, _comfortable_ to just _be_ with Todoroki-san.

Momo closed her eyes and listened to their breathing. She knew at some point in their friendship, her feelings had transformed into something… more, for lack of a better word. She didn't know why. She didn't know when. She didn't even know quite what they were. She simply knew she wanted them to always stay together.

She faced him (and he, her). Her eyelids fluttered open, and she stared at him, his eyes still closed, through vision blurred by her eyelashes and wondered, _maybe. Maybe she should tell him how she felt._

Her next breath was audible as she gathered her courage.

Todoroki's eyelids fluttered open, and suddenly, she was holding her breath, save for the tiny squeak that escaped her. Suddenly, her heart wanted to leap right out of her chest.

Suddenly, she wasn't ready anymore.

 **Two birds on a wire.**

But you know, if you never say anything, everything will happen right when you're not ready.

 _(One tries to fly away, and the other)_

"Hey, um," Todoroki began, averting his eyes. "I—"

 _(watches them close from that wire.)_

Had she not already been holding her breath, Momo's breathing would have hitched.

 _(They say they'd like to as well, but they are a liar.)_

He exhaled (and she could feel his breath on her skin). "Never mind," he mumbled, and suddenly, she couldn't _not_ breathe again.

Todoroki's expression subtly shifted, but he didn't ask any questions.

Momo couldn't quite pinpoint the feeling residing in her chest. Relief? Disappointment? It was hard to discern whether it was even a positive feeling, or a negative one. It was just… a feeling.

And it was bothering her.

 _ **Two birds on a wire.**_

Momo bit her lip. She disliked uncertainty, hated playing on it. But now, that uncertainty was gnawing at her heart, and if she didn't act on it now, it would only bite her in the ass later.

 _ **One tries to fly away**_

"Todoroki-san?"

(He looked at her again.)

 _ **and the other**_

"I like you."

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xx._** _insp. a song by regina spektor of the same name. which i love to pieces actually it's a good song to listen to on loop because it literally does that by itself._

 _the only reason i finished this up and got it off the misc doc is bc i got a 5 on my calc ab exam and i wanted to brag abt how good my teacher was bc honestly i wasn't even nervous for ap scores this year i knew with absolute certainty that i would get a 5 bc that's just how good my teacher was. i love math it's great._

 _this was fun to write tho i really liked it. anyway thank you for reading (i'm losing my MARBLES the faves went into TRIPLE DIGITS how does this happen to a mere worm like me? ? ?), follow/fave if you're new (*unholy screeching bc i love you guys very much but this many is just wild*), leave a review if that's what you're into (to feed my fragile ego), and as always, have a greaaaaaat daaaaaaayyyy~~~~~_


	21. Pith

**Word Count:** 578

* * *

Momo was afraid of facing her past on her own.

"I need a fake boyfriend."

But she wanted to face it.

"… _What?"_

She didn't know much about her classmate Todoroki, but from what meager pickings she had, she could still say with certainty: he was a good person. He was sweet and kind, even if the way he showed all that wasn't exactly intuitive. She hated to admit it, but she had been gambling on that kindness for this to work. She hated to say it, but she needed to use him for an end that was wholly selfish.

Momo let out a sigh, a soft, shaky, little thing, for she knew, she _knew,_ this was the point of no return. There would be no more laughing this off anymore. If she backed out now, there wouldn't be another opportunity to ask without admitting that all this scared the _shit_ out of her. Confidence was key in this situation. If she didn't believe _one hundred percent_ that this would work, then what chance did she have that her chosen partner would think so? What chance did she have that he would agree in this case?

"I know this is sudden," she began, taking it slow for her own sake. "But I swear, I swear, and I _swear_ that there's a logical explanation for all this."

Todoroki stared at her, his normally blank face visibly perplexed. Still, he said nothing, his expression alone inviting her to continue.

She couldn't look at him anymore. (So she didn't.) "When I was in middle school, I— I sort of liked this guy," she said, and Todoroki was kind enough to listen. "But when I confessed to him, he— he sort of turned out to be a... a..."

"A jerk," Todoroki filled.

"Yeah," said Momo. She was used to telling the story by now, having told it to each of the 1-A girls at all different times, and yet, it was honestly so _weird_ to be telling him about all this. She honestly couldn't understand to save her life why, but she didn't have the time to contemplate this weirdness at the moment. For whatever reason, the whole story was pouring out of her now, like a dammed river that had just been set free and now rushed forth with the force of a thousand summer storms. To an extent, she couldn't even hear what she herself was saying, and neither did she have the time to consider whether he could hear and understand her words, but that no longer mattered anyway.

When she sat there breathless and struggling once the story was over, none of it felt like it mattered because now everything was out there, hanging in the atmosphere that, for whatever reason, no longer felt quite so tense and choking. Momo blinked a few times, only just now realizing that once everything had come out, there was a strange lightheartedness that lived now in her chest.

"I'll do it."

Momo jerked her head to stare at Todoroki.

He tilted his head at her. "If you're going to talk about it that much to me, then this is important to you, right? If it's that important to you, who am I to deny you this?"

Momo's heart began to soar. She stood up, grinning like a madman, and held out her hand to Todoroki.

"Thank you."

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xxi._** _this is just a little snippet inspired and based upon a couple parts of my senior year soap opera that i like to call the fake dating shebang. it's kind of a story i want to tell but am struggling to feel listened to when i tell it, so basically what i'm saying is that i might be playing with these same themes over and over and over **and over** again for a little while until i feel i've processed the event well enough to write about other things. sorry in advance tbh._

 _anyway! ! ! thank you for reading! follow/fave if you're interested enough, leave a review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaaat daaaayy~~~_


	22. Selfish

**Word Count:** 777

* * *

It started with a study session in the library. At some point, she'd noticed Todoroki seemingly spacing out. When she asked him if he was all right, he simply blinked a few times and asked, _blurted,_ seemingly out of nowhere, "Do you— do you want to go outside for a while?"

Made curious, she'd agreed.

It was strange. She'd never taken him for a ranter. Besides, she wouldn't even consider them close on a _personal_ level; they were at best casual school friends in her eyes. And now here she was, sitting on a bench actually pretty far from the library, watching Todoroki pace the empty hall, restless and unstable as he searched for words. She had none of her own to provide him, unfortunately, helpless as he ran his hands through his hair for what felt like the hundredth time.

Suddenly, he stopped his rabid pacing, let his hand fall out of his hair, and turned to her. "Hey, Yaoyorozu," he said.

And she was afraid, but she didn't look away.

"Am I a good person?"

He was frightened of her answer, she could see it in the way he looked at her. But he had been brave enough to ask for it; it was the least she could do to gather the courage to give it to him.

She broke eye contact at last, if only to better focus on gathering her thoughts on the matter. In all honesty, she felt as though that weren't her decision to make: to her, a person wasn't simply _good_ or _bad;_ they were somewhere in-between, and they had to decide for themselves what the shades of grey meant.

"Todoroki-san," she said gently, raising her face to look upon him once again. "You are not a bad person."

He blinked at her once, twice, then sank down into the bench next to her, cradling his head in his hands as he stared at the concrete floor. He mumbled a few things to himself, things Momo wouldn't quite catch. She would never know if that was a good thing or not, but those few stray words she managed to grab hold of left her with chills.

There was an abrupt pause, the tense kind as if a gun had been shot in the background to scare them to silence. Todoroki said nothing, moved nary a muscle.

"Todoroki," Momo said, dropping the honorifics at last, "are you afraid of losing control?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Todoroki lifted his head and dropped his hands to his lap. Without looking at her, he nodded.

Another pause.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Todoroki suddenly launched himself up off the bench again. He resumed his frantic pacing, as though he were somehow doing wrong by doing nothing. "You know, all I ever do is think about myself. I hate it. Remember when—"

"Todoroki," Momo said, almost surprising herself with the way she cut in. But, perhaps watching everything she knew about Todoroki's established character fall apart in front of her in a single afternoon rant pushed something in her too. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he gruffly replied, running a hand through his hair.

"Are you _okay?"_ she asked again.

"I'm _fine,"_ he insisted, pacing even harder now.

 _"Todoroki Shoto,_ _ **are you okay?"**_

She had no idea at what point she had begun to stand.

Shoto stopped and stared. His hand fell limply to his side as his eyes widened and his jaw fell.

(She would not cry. She would not cry. She would not cry.)

She tried not to sniffle as she cocked her head at him, trying her best to give him a comforting smile. "You're allowed to say no sometimes," she whispered, afraid her voice would crack if she spoke any louder. "You can be selfish too sometimes." The first salty tear rolled down her cheek.

She sniffled. Its sound was louder than any of the words that had fallen from her mouth just now, and just that alone made her laugh just a little. Todoroki too relaxed enough to look at ease.

"You know that, right?" she asked him, so softly that even another breath could have carried her words away.

For all of a moment, she thought her breathing had blown her question away. For all of a moment, she let the question hang in the air before she dared stir once more.

"No." His voice was quiet, even fragile, unlike any other time she had heard it before. "I didn't know."

Momo smiled and wiped away the tears that wouldn't stop flowing. "Well," she said. "Now you know."

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xxii._** _woah another update two days after the last is she actually trying to make up for lost time?_

 _guess what this pertains to the fake dating shebang too ahahaha. this would probably come before last chapter if you wanted to put them in a chronology. again, it's a mix of inspired by and based upon. unlike last time, there's no clean mapping of irl onto these two characters for the story. idk if this is ooc for either of them tbh; i'm really more focused on retelling my own story than telling an original with these two._

 _all this being said, i also wanted to say that despite being the author, i have no idea why todoroki made the decisions he did in this or the previous chapter, just like i have no idea why my almost-fake-boyfriend said or did the things he did when we were friends. i mean, i have my suspicions, but the basis for those aren't brought up when i'm writing fic so that all this doesn't turn into another elaborate game of make-fun-of-almost-fake-boyfriend. (yes i do mean that "another")_

 _anyway, this and the previous chapter are in the biggest danger of being randomly deleted. not that i usually randomly delete chapters, but depending on my soap opera aftermath idk if i'll always want these up, esp since i'm not really certain of their quality. thus, make backups, people!_

 _so yeah. thank you for reading, follow/fave if you're new and interested i guess, review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaaat daaaaayyy~~_


	23. what's your name

**Word Count:** 281

* * *

Shoto didn't talk to anyone at the recommendation trials for UA. He simply had no idea how to approach anyone there, especially with that burly, windy, weirdo glaring daggers into him at every possible moment it seemed. It was pathetic of him not to know how to socialize, he knew, but there wasn't anything he knew to do.

During lunch break, he saw in the crowd of peers a girl. The first thing he noticed about her was how normal she looked in the middle of everyone, how at home she was like that. The second thing he noticed about her caught him off-guard: It was the way she laughed so, so easily, and the way his chest tightened at the sight of it. The feeling rather scared him, so he turned away and kept to himself for the rest of the trials.

He saw her again on the first day of school, sitting in the very back and gazing dreamily out the window, apparently lost in thought.

He sat down next to her, but only because she was the only person in the room he was familiar with. She noticed his, and turned to look at him.

"Hey," she said, her dark eyes alight with an almost childlike curiosity. "You were from the recommendation trials. Todoroki, right?"

She remembered him? Wow, that was, uh, that was a little embarrassing. Shoto quickly looked off to the side. "…Yeah."

There was a brief moment of silence, during which Shoto realized something.

He turned back to the girl and said, "By the way, I was wondering what's your name?"

She smiled at him, and for whatever reason, his heart started racing.

"Yaoyorozu Momo."

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xxiii._** _insp. by "what's your name" from_ the jerk theory. _follow/fave if you're new, leave a review if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaat daaayyy~~~_


	24. Sweets for the Sweet

**Word Count:** 669

* * *

Somewhere between their first and second years at UA, Todoroki and Momo drifted apart. Not that Momo ever would have said they were terribly close, of course, but he had at least felt _approachable_ for that first year. Now, here they are, in their third year, and they're in the same class again, but for whatever reason, she just can't find the bravery buried within her to talk to him.

Well, it's not like he really talks to _her_ first anymore either, so it was really only normal for her to assume that he… just didn't want… to talk to her anymore. Didn't want to be friends. He had friends now, you know, unlike in their first year when he was just awkward and shy and didn't really know how to interact with people.

Maybe that's why she's finding it so hard to interact with him now these days. She _wants_ to be friends with him again. It's just… hard. When it feels like it's not being reciprocated anymore.

Then, one day, it's the sports festival— their final time competing, huh? Well, she's satisfied with how far she's come. She may have lost this match, but she performed valiantly, and now she's simply content to watch from the stands.

A first year creeps up behind her. "Yaoyorozu-senpai," she hears, and turns around to see her favorite kouhai standing there.

Momo smiles at them, clearing away her things to leave the seat next to her empty. "What's up, kiddo? Want some candy?" She offers them a bag filled with assorted sweets.

"Thank you," the kid says, taking a few. There's a comfortable silence as the two watch the current match, the semifinals between Bakugou and Midoriya.

"That was a pretty rough match between you and Todoroki-senpai," her kouhai finally says. Momo looks at them, but they aren't taking their eyes off the wild fight taking place far, far below. "But I was riveted the entire time, you know? Way better than the two down there now duking it out. They're less creative."

Momo doesn't feel the need to say anything, so she doesn't, and it's fine. The two continue to eat candy and watch the match, and the topic of Todoroki doesn't come up again. Eventually, the sports festival ends, and Momo begins to leave with her favorite kouhai.

There's still an awful lot of candy left.

And you know, Momo's getting awfully tired of being shy around someone who had, at one point, given her back her confidence. She's tired of pretending that she doesn't feel anything pass when they make accidental eye contact for just the briefest of moments. She's tired of pretending that there had never been anything between them so long ago now. She's tired of pretending she's okay with leaving things the way they are at the moment.

She stops in the middle of the hall as strangers swirl around her as they leave the stadium, and her kouhai pauses to look back at her.

"Senpai," they says, patiently as ever, "You're blocking traffic."

"Yes, I know," Momo replies, almost a little absently, for she's rifling through her bag for just the right thing. "Just come here for a second."

Confused, her kouhai obeys, and she presses a sweet into their hand. "Uhh, thanks?" they say, but she shakes her head.

"Give that to Todoroki-san for me," she tells them.

"Todoroki who?" they ask.

"Shoto," she says, and it feels weird, but not that weird. "You know, the half-and-half hero."

"Uhh, okay," Kouhai says.

Momo starts walking away, but her kouhai calls out to her much sooner than she expected.

"Heeey, Yaoyorozu-senpai! He's right here!"

Momo turns around, and horrified, she makes eye contact with one very confused Todoroki.

Her face flushes red, and she runs away.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xxiv._** _so today i was at a football game at my alma mater, and one freshman almost paid another freshman five dollars to have me spit a hichew into his mouth. i was down. he was not. two freshmen ended up playing a weird version of the pocky game with more hichew anyway. memories were made today._

 _anyway you guys know the drill follow/fave leave a review if that's what you're into, and have a greaaaaat daaaaayyy~~~_


	25. Baby, It's Fact

**Word Count:** 829

* * *

"Hey, Kyo. I've got something to tell you," Momo said, late one night during a sleepover.

"What is it, Yaomomo?" Kyouka lazily replied, not taking her eyes off her phone screen.

"Come closer."

Kyouka groaned and turned off her phone, rolling over so that she could narrow her eyes at her best friend. "What, Yaomomo. _What_ could be _up."_

"I need to whisper in your ear!" Momo exclaimed in a low voice.

Kyouka dragged herself over to where Momo sat cross-legged on the bed, bitching the entire way. Eventually, she lay her head upon her friend's lap and glared up at her face and with half a pout, half a scowl, and asked, "What is it?"

Giddy, Momo whispered, "I'm dating Todoroki-kun."

Kyouka sat up, crossed her arms, and cocked an eyebrow at Momo. "Uhhh, yeah? We know? _Everyone_ knows?"

"No, I mean, _for real_ now," Momo said.

With a sigh, Kyouka crawled back to whence she came and cuddled up in her previous niche. "Momo, we get it," she said as she pulled out her phone again. "You're pretending to have a boyfriend to keep your parents chill with the marriage interviews. You don't have to keep faking it while we're at school, you know!"

Momo sighed. Suddenly, she felt tired, and so she fell back and fell asleep.

* * *

"Midoriya."

The green-haired lad in question jumped, not expecting to hear Todoroki speak after such a long period of silence. "Yeah, Todoroki?"

"I'm dating Yaoyorozu," Todoroki bluntly said.

Midoriya's face twisted from surprise to confusion to some version of, "What in the god damn hell are you talking about?" before eventually settling on some brand-new emotion previously unknown to man that was perfectly between acceptance, bafflement, and "I'm wholly convinced you're not in your right mind." (Of course, it wasn't as if Todoroki could perfectly identify those last two expressions, so he simply dismissed them.)

"Um, Todoroki?" asked Midoriya.

"Yes?" said Todoroki.

"What are you talking about."

Todoroki blinked at his friend. He thought he was being perfectly clear on the matter. "I'm dating Yaoyorozu," he repeated, though with a lesser degree of the fantastic confidence he'd had just a moment before.

Midoriya sighed like a 90s anime character. "Yeah, but doesn't everyone already know that?"

"That was pretend. This is real now."

Ever the overthinker, Midoriya stared at Todoroki, thoughts racing at a mile a minute, trying to decipher the potential layers of meaning behind his friend's words. Was this just code for, "The adults have us figured out and are watching so I must reassert the new context of our game of pretend; please play along, Midoriya!"? Or maybe he meant, "We fell for the oldest cliché in the book through fake dating and developed real feelings for one another." If the latter was the case, then was he subliminally asking for help on how to get across the reality to Yaoyorozu? Was he lamenting the built-in lack of a line between real and fake that came from the situation?

Of course, Todoroki meant none of these things, but considering Midoriya had gone on another one of his mumble-rambles, he simply decided to give up telling the news for the day.

* * *

"Kyouka didn't believe me when I tried telling her!" Momo lamented late the next night as she and Todoroki sat upon the roof of their dorm (against all school rules, of course, but _shhh_ …), watching the stars creep by.

"Neither did Midoriya," Todoroki said, fidgeting slightly as his internal monologue debated hotly as to whether he should reach for her hand or not.

Momo sighed. "I suppose we should have seen this coming from the moment we realized we liked each other for real in the middle of an open secret of fake dating."

Todoroki made a noise of acknowledgement, and his (real) girlfriend continued.

"I mean, of course, in their defense, it was difficult enough for us to get the message across to one another, and yet, I still can't help but feel frustrated— _huh?"_

Before she could get lost in her rant, Momo felt something warm wrap around her waist and drag her down so that she lay down, half upon the roof, and half upon her (real) boyfriend's chest.

"They'll believe us eventually," said Todoroki, notably looking away from her. "There's nothing you can do to help it now, soo you shouldn't worry about it."

Momo stared at him (hearing the beat of his heart echoing through his chest) for all of a minute before realizing she was staring, then quickly averted her eyes to gaze upon the stars. Then, just a minute later, she remembered, _she was allowed to stare now._

So she did.

A minute more, and he caught her eye, which prompted her smile.

.

.

.

.

The best kisses came in the cold night air.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note xxv:_** _i was actually very surprised to discover that this is already chapter 25! it's been a while since i last posted, and i really don't post nearly as much as i used to (though i really really wanna change that), but it's still a pleasant surprise to rediscover how much i've really written._

 _so. It's been a while again. Believe me when I say I am trying very dearly to get back into the groove of writing. For a while, I've simply accepted that I've been writing other things that shall simply never be published online, things of a far different design than fanfiction. But in my secret things, my hidden things, the words do not sing; they snark and they mock, and as such, it will probably be a while before my writing carries with it again the same grace the earlier chapters had. /sorry!_

 _anyway yes! thank you for reading. follow/fave if you're new and interested, please leave a review if that's what you're into (since it's always especially nice to receive feedback after long breaks on writing ^w^), and as always, have a greaaaaaat daaaaayyy~~~ (happy holidays in this case i guess lol)_


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